


The Sound of Silence

by Madance



Category: RWBY
Genre: Anti-Faunus Racism (RWBY), Blood and Violence, Crime Fighting, F/F, Falling In Love, Freezeburn friendship, Jealousy, Kinda, Magic, Shapeshifting, Smol Lesbian, Stalking, Tall Lesbian, alternative universe, baked alaska, selective mutism, will add more tags as the story progresses
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-09
Updated: 2019-12-01
Packaged: 2020-11-28 01:07:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 37,108
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20957930
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Madance/pseuds/Madance
Summary: Neo had few expectations in her life. One, protect and help her only friend Roman to get whatever he wanted, second, to keep away from what could lead to unnecessary trouble, but the moment she saw Yang fighting Junior's goons, she was dragged into a spiral of consequences that she simply could not predict.





	1. Love at first fight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Neo watches Yang beating people up and gets interested.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> EDIT: I had made some changes to the chapter, they don't really affect all that much, but I felt that I need to add and change a few things, like the text for messages and a slight change in flow in a particular scene.
> 
> Yay, I decided to write something for my favorite pairing on the whole RWBY fandom. I simply love Baked Alaska, Yang and Neo both fascinate me so much, and their famous train fight still are a feast for my eyes. I love them.
> 
> Anyways, this is an Alternative Universe, basically will follow most of canon events until a certain point, but the fact that Yang and Neo will constantly interact with each other. Something that I will address right now is that in my personal vision, Neo is a selective mute. She has the ability talk, but its not that simple, due to some certain... Circumstances. Oh, will all get it in time, I'm sure. Not going to spoil it for you.
> 
> The focus will be either on Neo or Yang, but sometimes, other characters might have their moment, but this is their story. Also as a reminder, just because a character says or think something doesn't mean its the right thing. Its just their own point of view.
> 
> While there might be other pairings scattered through the story(Looking at you, Crosshares), I didn't and won't tag them so people don't get confused.
> 
> I do like to draw to illustrate some bits of the story, I'm not a professional artist by any means, I just enjoy doing it.
> 
> Hm, I think that's all that I can say about it. Please enjoy and I will be talking more on the end notes.

The almost deafening music in the club annoyed her.

Sure, she did change her mind about accompanying her dear friend - and brother - Roman to this place, therefore, she had no one but herself to blame, but still, Junior could have at least chosen a better setlist. Who wants to hear the same noise over and over without any meaning to it?

Then again, since she was the only one who seemed irritated, it was clear that her opinion wasn’t something shared by the others present in the vicinity.

Which brought her back to the boring exchange between the said club owner and her boss.

"I'm glad we have reached an agreement. I hope your men are worthy of every lien I've spend on their services." Roman sarcastically exclaimed as he pivoted in place, missing Junior's scowl. "If you don't mind, I shall take my leave, Hei Xiong. Tut tut, and all that.”

“Yeah, yeah. Don’t let the door hit you on your way out…” The disgruntled club owner grumbled under his breath. “Damn prick…”

Junior walked away. When the club owner reached a decent distance, which was when the redhead and the two-toned haired woman beside him no longer could hear him over the music – Roman smirked.

“Heh, what a riot.” Roman walked a few steps before he noticed that his smaller companion wasn’t following him. He turned slightly to his subordinate with a raised eyebrow. “Aren’t you coming, Neo?”

Neo merely looked towards the bar counter, slightly smiling at the two Malachite girls who served as Junior’s bodyguards.

This prompted her boss to groan in exasperation. “Oh, for fuck's sake Neo, you're such a useless lesbian. I expected better, at least you could have chosen someone who isn't likely to become a liability!”

The young woman merely giggled in her usual almost silent way, feigning innocence. Roman groaned again.

"Fine, fine! I will go back to the main hideout but do try to be careful, my friend, or at least give me a call so I can know whose legs I need to break if things get out of hand.”

Neo nodded again, and Roman smiled affectionately at her. With an exaggerated bow to his shorter companion, the redhead left the club.

_‘Now that I’m relatively alone, I can finally get down to business.’_

Neo was too busy lost on her plans to get one of the twins on her bed to notice that the club's door opened again. She was too busy to notice the presence of a blonde young lady who ironically would fill her mind.

But she certainly wasn't too engrossed in her own thoughts enough to ignore the funniest exchange she happened to witness in a while.

"-You can call me sir!" The blonde girl grabbed Junior's crotch and twisted. Making the older man wheeze and his voice turns thin due to the obvious pain. Ignoring the man’s struggle, the blonde picked what seemed to be her scroll and showed Junior something on it. “People say you know everything, tell me where I can find her and I will let you go.”

This prompted Neo to quickly grab her own scroll and start recording the whole scene as fast as she could. There's no way she would miss a golden opportunity to have a laugh at that man's expense.

“I’ve never seen her before, I swear!”

The girl was annoyed by the answer, and seemly clutched Junior’s sensitive parts even harder. “Excuse me?!”

Clearly in a lot of pain, Junior managed an answer. “I swear, sir!”

Their exchange, while increasingly amusing, also drew the attention of Junior’s guards, and they rapidly approached their suffering boss. Neo raised an eyebrow.

_‘Now, Goldilocks, what will you do?’_ The short woman thought to herself.

"Hm… It looks like we have an audience! This must be kind of embarrassing for you, huh?" The ‘Goldilocks’ girl said, barely even looking at the guards around her.

Junior kept struggling in pain. The blonde kept smiling. “Awkwaaard!”

With a trembling voice, the club owner managed to whine some phrases. “Listen, blondie-UGH- Sir! If you want to make out of this club alive, I suggest you let me go…Now!”

The ‘Goldilocks’ girl shrugged and released her hold on the man’s privates, and Junior immediately groaned and breathed in relief. To his credit, he managed to walk away from the blonde almost looking normal. Well, as normal as a pushover like Junior could be, that is. The guy was too gullible to not take advantage of.

“…You will pay for that.” Junior remarked as he started to walk away from the girl.

“Oh Junior, I was just playing with you! Don’t be so sensitive.” The blonde happily skipped around the man, who kept trying to get away from her. “Come on! Let’s kiss and make up, ok?”

That immediately made the disgruntled club owner turn his head back to the girl who was previously twisting his intimate parts as if she had done nothing at all.

_‘Wow, Junior really is as stupid as he looks if he falls for that.’_

Neo grinned, already imagining that the ‘Goldilocks’ girl had something up her sleeve if her smirking face and barely contained giggles were of any indication.

Not that someone like Junior would even be able to tell, since he seemed way too eager to accept that someone hot as that girl was actually interested in his sorry hide, so it was unlikely that he even notice anything.

With a light ‘okay’, he closed his eyes and prepared to kiss her.

Neo even counted the seconds until the inevitable happened.

And it was four. Four seconds until the girl sucker-punched the guy so hard that he flew away until he hit the far wall of the club, probably seeing stars.

Neo laughed. Now the good stuff had begun.

Junior’s henchmen jumped at the girl from all sides and tried to hit her with their axes, but ‘Goldilocks’ was having none of it and just beat them up over and over. It was like seeing ants being stomped by, let’s say, a dragon. That was how impossible it was for any of them to properly be of any use against her.

The club-goers noticing the havoc happening close to them started to panic and immediately ran towards the exit.

_‘Not that I can blame them for that, but now that they are away, I can have the front seat to this amazing show.’_

Neo whistle amusedly when one particular goon flew over her, she merely turned her body sideways and saw the man hit the bottles in display on the bar. As an afterthought, she picked a forgotten drink and took a small sip, still too engrossed in watching and filming the fight to care for anything else.

_‘Hm, those gauntlets are something fierce, I’ll admit. It releases shotgun’s shells, and coupled with the impact that this girl’s punch has, I can safely say that this pack some heavy damage.’_

Neo raised an eyebrow when the DJ picked a machine gun and started to shoot almost aimlessly at the girl.

Needless to say, it was so pathetic, and the resulting beating that he got was his just reward for such sorry excuse of an attack.

As he fell and hit the floor with a sounding ‘crunch’, Neo noticed – to her own excitement – that the Malachite twins decided to join the fray.

_‘About time. If the girl actually wanted to kill their boss, those two would certainly be out of a job, and their reputation would sink too low for anyone to make a new contract with them.’_

The ‘Goldilocks’ girl smile grew at the sight of the newcomers. She reloaded her shotguns rounds and quickly jumped towards the girls, firing a couple of shots.

The twins evaded the shots fast enough and proceed to circle and attack the blonde at the same time.

It was like a dance. Neo sipped once more from her drink, enjoying the sight immensely. It wasn't every day that she could see three hot women fight each other like that. Granted, the Malachite twins weren't much of a challenge, - and she certainly could do a better job of working that pretty blonde up – but it was a treat to Neo's otherwise boring evening.

After a few minutes of fighting the bodyguards, the ‘Goldilocks’ girl decided it was enough and finally properly beat them. The girls couldn’t scurry away fast enough.

Then, Junior decided to return to the whole scene carrying what seemed to be a bazooka.

He shot the blonde an angry look. “You’re going to pay for that.”

_‘I highly doubt it.’_

As faster as he could manage, Junior fired several missiles towards the ‘Goldilocks’ girl, who either evaded them or shot at them down with her own bullets.

Irritated that things weren't going as he planned, Junior changed his weapon configuration to close combat, making it act as a club and immediately approached the blonde, launching against her a flurry of attacks. This proved to be effective, since he managed to break through her defenses, delivering a blow that lifted the girl from the floor and made her fly until her back hit the remains of a pillar.

However, the girl raised from the floor with a smirk. She brought both of her fists together, and Neo could swear that the blonde was on fire. She quickly approached Junior, deflecting his missiles easily, and then it was ‘Goldilocks’ turn to deliver a series of punches on the club owner's poor excuse for a defense, destroying his weapon.

_‘Her eyes… They changed color…’_ Neo breathed almost reverently. _‘Like my own.’_

Violet to red.

Neo blinked, changing her own eyes to those two colors.

As she returned her attention to the fight – or should she say, beating - she was witnessing, both Neo and Junior realized that he was holding what seemed to be a little bit of the blonde hair.

Unfortunately for the club owner, the ‘Goldilocks’ girl noticed it too.

The girl seemed furious at the man for somehow harming her hair, and the entire area around her paid the price, for she suddenly elevated her aura to the point that everything around her either broke or were blown to pieces, and of course… She sucker-punched Junior so fast -and so strongly - that the guy flew out of the club's high window and probably landed somewhere on the streets.

As quick and as unexpectedly the whole situation had begun, the blonde jumped away towards the now broken window. Out of the club, and by consequence, out of Neo’s vision.

The short woman sighed, a little miffed that the blonde no longer was present. She stopped recording and closed her scroll, deep in thought.

She drank again and again until there wasn't anything left on her glass. The Strawberry Sunrise drink was really sweet indeed, but certainly not as sweet as it would be to have the opportunity to see the blonde again.

_‘Hm.’_ Neo broke into the largest smile. _‘That can be arranged.’_

With that in mind, Neo laughed as quietly as she ever were, sarcastically leaving enough Lien for the drink over the bar’s counter. She did enjoy the show, and it was only polite to donate something to the man who would spend so much trying to fix everything around here – along with his reputation.

Neo opened the front door just in time to see the intriguing blonde having a conversation with another person. A girl wearing a red hood.

Widely smiling and quickly making use of her semblance so to remain hidden to the oblivious girls, Neo eagerly observes them talking.

“Yang, did just beat everyone up because they annoyed you?” The 'Little Red Hooded' girl said with some awkwardness. “Don’t you think you might have gone a little… Uh…”

"Overboard? Pretty much, but relax sis, they totally deserved to be dunked, like, this old man over there-" The blonde pointed to the passed-out form of Junior. "-was so rude. He even messed up my hair, can you believe that?"

The 'Little Red Hooded' girl rolled her eyes. “You do love your hair, that’s for sure…”

Then, she gestured to an orange/black motorcycle parked close to them. “Anyways, can you give me a ride back? I was looking all around for you and it would only be fair.”

“Of course, Ruby, you don't even need to ask. Not to mention, I still owe you one for helping me pack my stuff for Beacon” The blonde ruffled Ruby’s hair playfully, making the shorter girl whine.

“Yaaaang, stop iiiiiit!”

Neo watched them get on the bike and speed away into the night. As soon as they left the area, she broke her semblance, feeling it shattering in its comfortable usual way.

_‘So Goldilocks have a sister… Ha… This makes things far more interesting than before! I wonder if she fights as well as her older sibling... Ah, there's only one way to find out and i have a lot of options to use...'_

Yes. It has been some time since anyone got her attention in such fashion and she could not help herself but want to pursue this dangerous line of thought.

_‘Time to acquire some information about them. Especially about you, Yang.'_

Her scroll number was a must, and luckily, she had her ways to get this without much hassle, not to mention, the prospect of either fighting or getting to know the blonde was too good to pass up.

As Neo walked away from the club, she whistles a tune, hoping that the fire she saw on Yang’s eyes could somehow burn her.

\---

In depths of the same night, Neo paid a visit to a contact of hers, the chief of communications operations of the Vale's police, the one known as Gerald Panini. The man in question wasn't as much important as the kind of service he could provide if the right threats and bribes were made. So, it wasn't a surprise for him to find the two-haired toned woman lazily sitting on his chair like she owned everything in his office.

Which she and Roman did own if the incriminating evidence of his many transgressions had any saying.

With a sigh, the man locked the door behind him, carefully maintaining his voice low. “I won’t even ask how you got here without anyone in the VPD knowing, but can you please tell me is something easy this time?”

Neo smiled and nodded at the middle-aged man, straightening her posture and showing him her scroll.

The man eyed what she had written in the device screen:

** _ I’m looking for the scroll number of a person, more specifically, a girl. Her first name is Yang. You will order the pigs to discreetly find all you can manage about her and bring it to me. You will have to do this soon or the DA and everyone else that matters will find out about your little past time. _ **

Panini sighed, giving the scroll back. “Don’t fret. I’m no longer complaining about it. I will look for this girl of yours and I will leave what I find about her at the usual dropbox. Just so you know, I could have an easier time finding her if you provide me with something more than her first name. Do you have a picture, mugshot or anything else to help identify her?”

Neo picked the scroll and tapped on it a few times, and Panini's personal scroll made a small sound characteristically of a message being received. He picked his scroll from his shirt pocket and eyed carefully the attachment sent.

“I see. This certainly will help, even if the photo quality isn’t really the best.”

Noticing that the short woman wasn't amused by his last comment, Panini tried to placate her. "Hey, I understand that this was probably extracted from a recording, so it's not like it is supposed to be perfect, please don't hit me."

Neo pondered if she should let the guy go or if she should terrorize him for the fun of it, but she decided that it wasn’t worth the hassle. Therefore, she shrugged and stood up from the chair.

She took a bow and allowed her semblance to mask her retreat from the room in her usual cryptic manner.

The way Panini gasped and heavily breathed in fear when her illusion shattered made her grin satisfactorily all the way until she reached the hideout. 

\---

It took two agonizing days to get what she wanted. Neo considered having another ‘talk' with Panini so to remind him that when she meant ‘soon', she was being literal. Luckily enough, when she came to check on the dropbox, she found a simple file with a microchip attached to it. She unceremoniously picked it and left the area as fast as she could, eager to find out all that she could about the blonde.

When she arrived at one of her and Roman's safe houses, - which wasn't anything more than a small room with a few amenities close to the poorest neighborhood of Vale – she felt comfortable enough to open the file.

Neo took a seat at the small plastic chair of the small rust-covered table on the corner of the room and let her herself read what Gerald Panini had found.

The first thing she observed was a small note written in Panini’s usual scrabble he dared to call handwriting:

_ Sorry for taking my time. It wasn’t much but this is all that I could find about this girl of yours. A word of advice, though, apparently, she is one of the new brats set to go to Beacon in a few days from now, so she might be under some scrutiny. You know how they can get in those combat schools. I don't know why you want her but please keep me out of this, the last thing I want is for her father to get up on my case. The guy is some hotshot from what I could gather and you don't want to mess with him. _

Neo rolled her eyes. As always, Panini pissed himself over the thought of being discovered. Not that she cared. He would continue to do his job for her and Roman’s, he didn’t get to have the choice, and she would remind him of that pretty soon.

But for now, she had far more pressing concerns to deal with, like, what the little worm found about her blonde.

_‘Let’s see… Interesting. She is from some Hicksville island called Patch, has gone to the preparatory combat school in Signal, with astounding grades, passed with flying colors on Beacon’s selection test, is sister to Ruby Rose-’_

Neo paused her reading when she started reading the wording ‘REDACTED’.

_‘Hm… Apparently, there are some controversies regarding Yang's family. Her mother is either claimed to be this Summer Rose woman or is left as ‘redacted'. I wonder if she is an illegitimate child? Not that it matters that much, but still got my attention. I will keep this in mind.'_

With a shrug, Neo resumes her reading.

_‘Yang’s father is a teacher on Signal’s combat school, being a hunter himself. Her uncle, someone called Qrow Branwen was also a teacher at the same school. Her weapon of choice is a pair of gauntlets construct by her own hands, as per usual from Signal’s curriculum. Interesting.’_

The short woman chuckled as she turned the page and was met with a small photo of the blonde. She took her bike license a year ago, as soon as she was able to legally ride one. Apparently, she was the one who created her own motorcycle, showcasing a remarkable knowledge of engineering. She constantly makes use of a burning heart as her symbol.

Fitting.

Finally, Neo picked the microchip and attached it to her scroll. Her device decrypted the chip in a few seconds and soon enough, the blonde’s scroll number was shown and added to her list of contacts. The two-haired toned woman discarded the microchip, stepping on it to make sure it was reduced to pieces, and eagerly spun around the small hideout.

_‘I wonder how she will react. I cannot wait to talk to her.’_

Neo walked to the small mattress on the other side of the room, laying comfortably as she could and preparing herself to talk to the blonde.

\---

Yang was having a boring day.

Sure, the very recent news that her little sister would also come to Beacon with her was amazing and all, but she still was bored beyond belief. Her dad and Ruby had to make a quick dash back to Patch so they could pack some of her things, especially since they only have a few days before Beacon's classes starts. For that reason, the blonde was left all alone in the hotel room. Normally she would be ecstatic to have the opportunity to enjoy the city without worrying for Ruby’s safety or whatever her father wanted to lecture her on, but her friends still weren’t in town and it wasn’t like she could return to Junior’s club after the shitstorm she caused there.

Not to mention, she wasn’t exactly swimming in dough, in fact, her father only left her enough to simply pay for small amenities and the hotel's daily fees. Which really helped to remind her that life was sucking so much right now.

“Ugh, can something exciting just happen! Please, for the love of God-” Yang started to complain to the empty room around her as she lazily changed the channel on the TV when a sounding ‘ping' was emitted from her scroll.

"Hm?" She dropped the TV's control and picked the scroll from the end table beside her bed. "Please be something interesting…"

She unlocked the scroll's screen and was met by a very unusual sight. In almost glitch-like way, with distorted letters and slight glowing colors, the following message was shown:

"Hello, Goldilocks? What the hell is that?" She read it out loud, a little perplexed by it. She tapped away from the screen and while the message disappeared from the main menu, an unknown icon with a drawing of an Sundae named ‘Nice cream' was added to her list of apps. "Did someone just hacked my scroll or is this one of Ruby's weird pranks?"

Yang knew she should ignore the scroll and avoid using it any further, but the boredom and curiosity were too much to handle and she tapped on the ‘Nice cream’ icon.

Immediately, a simple conversation window appeared, but no messages were on it.

_‘That’s super weird. Hm… Let’s try something…’_

She slowly tapped a few words.

** _ Fireballin17: Hello? _ **

No answer.

Feeling a bit peeved that nothing had happened, Yang groaned. “Just my luck, this was just another prank and I got worked up for nothing-"

A small ‘ping’ of a message being received brought her attention back to the device. She immediately read it.

_ **Vacherin: Hey there, Blondie. I've saw you beat the living crap out of Junior and his toy-soldiers back on the Three Little Bears club and I was absolutely fascinated by how you fought them. ** _

Yang’s mouth opened in disbelief of what she just read, feeling suddenly annoyed.

_ ** Fireballin17: Great. A stalker. Just my luck. Look, buddy, don't you have anything better to do? And don't call me Blondie, you creep. ** _

The blonde stared hard at the small sign of a message being written. It was almost as if she was daring whoever was messaging her to give her an answer that wasn’t as she expected.

** _Vacherin: Lmao! I guess you could call me that, I did steal your scroll number and managed to hack it so I could install this little application that we are using, but I am more of an admirer for your combat skills than whatever you probably are used dealing with in a daily basis. You are a very pretty girl, dear Goldilocks. Anyone can tell. _ **

Yang got even more baffled by the nonchalant manner that this person was referring to this whole situation.

** _ Fireballin17: Dude, don’t you get it? I’m not going to talk to a creepy guy for whatever reason! Leave me alone, or I will somehow find you and beat the shit out of you too! _ **

She anxiously waited for an answer. It came as easily as the one before.

** _Vacherin: Ok, first things first, Ms. Yang: I’m not a man, and secondly, I would totally be up to the challenge if you really mean it, but I'm warning you that the one who is going to get beaten is you, not me. I am the better fighter after all. _ **

Yang’s mouth slacked again, and she experienced a set of mixed feelings.

First, she felt relieved that the one talking to her was claiming to be a girl, which made things a little less creepy for her. If that was true, that is.

Second, how dare her.

She quickly tapped an answer.

_ ** Fireballin17: As if! I can take you anytime without breaking a sweat, you annoying little twerp! And I really doubt that you are a girl. I bet you’re just some loser drunk-ass who lives in a basement in their grandmother's house and who somehow gets off by annoying people. ** _

Yang waited for an answer for a minute, but no icon showing that something was being written appeared. The blonde puffed her chest, already thinking that she had ‘won’ this whole conversation when she was surprised yet again. This time, the conversation showcased that there was an image attached.

The blonde groaned. “If this is a dick pic, I swear I will cut this guy’s balls off…”

She tapped on the image, opening it. To her shock, it wasn’t what she expected. _'Thank God for that.'_

Instead of a man's body part, an adorable image of a pale white-haired, red-eyed girl, with the cockiest smile on her face was shown.

A Beautiful girl who has a very evident cleavage.

Yang stared at the picture dumb folded, completely lost for words when she noticed that the girl had written something to her.

** _Vacherin: Sorry if I didn’t answer you as quick, I was too busy laughing my ass off from what you had written earlier, and I decided to take a few pics so to show you that I’m a woman, not a man. _ **

Another image quickly arrived. Yang quickly opened it. It was similar to the previous one, but it showed the girl laying on what appeared to be an old mattress with one finger pressed to her lips, making a gesture of silence.

And again, with her cleavage very prominent.

And another pic. And another. All of them showcasing her casually laying around a small room, with that smirk on her face and _that damn cleavage_.

Yang carefully tapped an answer.

** _ Fireballin17: How do I know you haven’t got this from some random Toggle page? And your house looks like one of those capsule hotels that are said to exist in Mistral. That’s how small it is. _ **

The icon of an answer being written appeared. Yang eagerly read it.

** _Vacherin: It's not, but you are free to try to find out and don't you dare house-shame me, your insensitive brute. =p _ **

This prompted a small laugh from the blonde. This girl had a sense of humor.

** _ Fireballin17: So, you are a girl. That's less creepy but still stands that you are a weirdo who got up in my business like one. Give me a reason to not just ignore you from now on, or better yet, get another phone that you didn't hack? _ **

The answer couldn’t arrive fast enough, and Yang was secretly amused by it.

** _Vacherin: Oh, do go on. I’m not stopping from doing whatever you want, but I would like the chance to fight you someday, see if you could actually lay a hand on me. Not that it will actually happen since, as I said before, I’m leagues above you, but I’m offering you the chance to be completely humiliated by me in combat anyways. _ **

Yang giggled.

** _ Fireballin17: Ok, first: rude. Second, there’s no chance in hell you would be able to do that. You don’t look like can lift a pound and I bet you are short. A twerp like you probably would faint just from seeing me get into my fighting stance. _ **

Another ping of a message.

** _Vacherin: That's for me to know and for you to find out Goldilocks. Perhaps we can settle this whole thing by doing that? How would you like to meet me so we could fight each other? I promise I will be very gentle. _ **

That made Yang snicker and shook her head.

** _ Fireballin17: And how do I know you aren’t a total psycho and aren’t going to scatter my body parts around all corners of the town? _ **

Yang groaned when she read the answer. She did walk on this one.

** _Vacherin: Well, Yang, if I was a psycho, as you said before, wouldn’t you just beat me up and put me into my place when we met each other? Or maybe you are afraid to admit that you are weaker than me and are making excuses to not be completely owned by yours truly? LOL >DD _ **

That hit a nerve, couple with her boredom and curiosity, it was a given.

** _ Fireballin17: Fine, you win. However, I want to meet you before anything in a public place so we can talk about it like normal people. Also, I want to know your name, goddammit. _ **

The blonde wondered for a moment what kind of name someone like this girl could have. Probably something cocky like Pamela or maybe Madison. Those were some wannabe’s names.

** _Vacherin: Loooool, did you just ask me on a date? Ok, since you insist, I’m totally up for it, and to answer your other request, you may call me Nova. I’m sure your pretty little head won’t forget it. _ **

Yang laughed at the message. Really good sense of humor. She was starting to think this wasn’t as bad as it seemed.

** _ Fireballin17: Whatever. I will be busy in a couple of days, but I can make time for you tomorrow. Meet me at the town center, at 1 P.M. sharp. You better not be late. _ **

She kept smiling even as she read the answer.

** _Vacherin: Very well, Goldilocks. I will be sure to bring my A-game tomorrow. Just make the effort to do the same for me, it's only polite, after all. _ **

With that, Yang decided to put the scroll back at the end table.

“Well, at least I’m not bored anymore… And I would be lying if I said I wasn’t excited…” She muttered to herself. “I wonder how interesting this meeting will be and what kind of person this Nova girl is…”

Yes, Nova was a name far more pretentious than she had imagined. She would annoy the girl with it as soon as she could.

_‘But… Why the hell was the app named ‘Nice Cream’? Is that a sex joke? And what kind of a weird nickname is Vacherin? Bah, I’m too tired to care…’_

And the blonde slept remarkably well that night.

Across town, a short woman with two-toned hair also felt the same.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There you have it. First chapter. Neo is sassy and a little imp, but a lovable one. Still, boundaries, anyone? Not that she would care. XD
> 
> Poor Yang, she is going to have so much to deal with. Who knows what kind of shenanigans they both will get into?
> 
> Yes, I imagined that Ruby would need to get some of her stuff ready for Beacon, so she would need to get it in order. Lucky for her, Patch is quite close.
> 
> Neo has been shown to have some degree of hacking skills, like the infiltrator that she is. She could have tried to get Yang's number by herself, but she would have took a long time for that. Why not bully someone else to do it for her? Case and point, that's exactly what she did.
> 
> At the RTX Australia 2016 RWBY Panel, Yang's Skype username was Fireballin17. Therefore, I thought that it would be appropriate to have her using it in the story.
> 
> Vacherin is a dessert which is made by layering meringue discs and ice cream on top of each other, often with the use of strawberries. There's a particular reason why Neo chose this nickname for herself, which will become obvious by next chapter.
> 
> A small change that I made on the chapter was making the events that transpired on Junior's club happen before Ruby's admittance on Beacon, as per canon.
> 
> In case anyone want to know, Nova is a synonym for Neo, both meaning "new". And in case someone want's to know her fake surname(I guess that I can tell you this small thing, but it will come up later on the story) is Cosmo, from CosmoPOLITAN. Therefore, her fake name is a reference to the one she is known for.
> 
> There's a reason why Neo chosen the white-haired with the red eyes look instead of the other ones she uses on the series. It will be addressed in the next chapter.
> 
> Hm... I guess that's all? Well. Please leave a comment/kudos, those make my day and I always answer them. =)


	2. First impressions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yang meets her mysterious stranger and they talk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edit: I added a mention to the Faunus Cashier, to allow the story flow better.
> 
> Hi! Here it is the second chapter. I made two drawings(again) and I tried to make the second one slightly chibi(I just felt like it). I still think I can add another one but I don't know...  
Anyways, I need to say a few things before starting!
> 
> I made a mock reference to Instagram by calling it 'Instantagram' instead. Just like in the previous chapter I made a reference of google by calling Toggle. I'm sure I will be making other references on the following chapters.
> 
> Nova's appearance was based on a strawberry sundae and of course, on the vacherin dessert. You can see how she looks in the first drawing. Her outfit was partially inspired on a trending cosmopolitan fashion design... Much like her fake name, Nova Cosmo.
> 
> Heed the tags. Things will start to get... Messy. Be ready, and keep in mind that a character has their own Point of View and something that they might think isn't necessarily the truth. Another thing to add is that a character can evolve during the story.
> 
> Ah, I made a reference to Danganronpa in this chapter. Sorry, I couldn't resist.
> 
> Hm, I guess I will see you at the end notes. Until then!

****   


Yang yawned as she lazily strolled at the town center's plaza. From what the blonde knew about the story of Vale as a village, – and much later, as a city - it all started here at this very plaza. It was such an important place that no name that they tried to stick to it ever got properly used since everyone kept referring to it as ‘town center'. Therefore, when anyone would agree to meet at ‘the town center', they were actually saying that they would meet at the plaza.

With that being said, right now, Yang wondered if that Nova girl even knew about this detail since it was already fifteen minutes and no one approached her. Well, no girl at least.

_‘Well, there's the probable option that she was lying the whole time, of course…'_ The blonde rolled her eyes. _‘Which would annoy me so much.'_

Yang was about to look at the ‘Nice Cream' app on her scroll when she felt something small and light hit the back of her head. She instinctively touched it and felt something nestled between her beautiful locks of gold hair: A small piece of gravel.

"What?" The blonde didn't have much time to be confused for soon she felt another thing hit the back of her head again, this time with more intensity.

She turned to look at the direction where she thought the pebbles were coming from, expecting to find someone there only to be confused, since no one was there.

"The hell…" As she frowned at the empty space, once again; she felt something hit the back of her head, this time coming from the opposite direction. She sharply turned to look at whoever was throwing those pebbles at her and again, she was baffled to find no one in sight.

_‘How in the name of fuck they are doing that?'_

As she seethed in anger, she was hit from the back again, however, this time not only it managed to somewhat hurt her, but it also wasn't a pebble:

A rounded tricolored marble stone.

_‘Who in their right mind would start throwing marble balls at strangers?'_

As she picked the marble from the freshly watered grass, she glanced up, half expecting to find nothing waiting for her, only to be surprised by the appearance of another person.

A really beautiful, - if tiny – very pale white-haired girl covered by the shade of a pink umbrella stared right at her. The girl from the pictures. This girl was supposed to be Nova.

_‘Dang, she is really short and- Wait a second…'_

However, Yang also thought that Nova probably was the one throwing those things at her.

"I don't know how you hid so well, but if you throw anything at me one more time you will lose teeth." The blonde said unamused, which only made the girl smile turn into a smirk. "Don't you have anything to say for yourself?"

Nova kept staring at her, and this somehow further infuriated the blonde. "Why don't you talk? Are you mute?!"

She nodded and pointed at her throat which made Yang's words die awkwardly and her annoyance lessen as she was engulfed by embarrassment.

_‘Man, I did not expect that. Now I feel like an ass.'_

"Uh, sorry, I didn't know… I mean-"

Nova merely made a come-hither motion with her free hand and Yang decided to follow her. As they walked side by side, Yang chanced a glance at the shorter girl.

Her eyes were bright red. It wasn't something unheard of, a lot of people had unusual eyes and hair colors due to the influence of their aura and even their semblance, while others opted for the use of chemicals or contact lenses. However, this seemed a little off to her, she could not pinpoint why exactly she felt so, but she got the feeling that there was more to it than mere aesthetics.

_‘Maybe is a medical condition or something… Would it be rude if I asked her about it?'_

Nova picked her scroll from her back pocket and started typing something on it absentmindedly. A few seconds later, Yang's scroll vibrated in her pocket. She picked it up and eyed it only to find the ‘Nice Cream' app with a message received.

** _Vacherin: I can talk to you through here if you don't know how to speak in my language, you know._ **

This made Yang raise an eyebrow and turn her head to the girl beside her. "You mean… By using _Vale's Sign Language_?"

Nova nodded and then started to make slow deliberate signs, clearly simplifying it for Yang's sake. She asked a question, and Yang huffed an answer.

"You know, I might not be as fast as you doing it, but I learned to at least understand it without much trouble." The blonde flatly stated. "So, start signing, oh, and to answer your question, the marble ball didn't hurt. Thanks for the little gift, by the way."

_"That's good to know, Goldilocks. I had chosen it especially for you."_ Nova smirked. _"You are so full of surprises. I half expected you to throw it at my face."_

"Yeah, I am pretty great, and I'm keeping this little marble." Yang puffed her chest. "Now, where are you going to take me, _shorty_?"

_"Well, my dear, I'm bringing you to a very nice place for those with a refined taste."_ Nova grabbed Yang's hand and eagerly skipped across the street. _"And here we are. Not that far from our meeting place and all too perfect for our little talk, don't you agree?"_

Yang stared at the store's front, with the colorful lettering reading:

** Vanilla Dreams – Ice Cream from all of Remnant. **

"Ice cream? Man, I didn't imagine you liked that."

Nova scoffed, raising an eyebrow. _"I love its taste. It's all kind of sweet and rolls so well on my tongue. I'm sure you can relate, being all sweet yourself."_

The shorter girl opened the door and walked inside the shop, missing Yang's sudden blush and baffled look. The blonde shook her head and followed after Nova, determined to not let her embarrass her any further.

Nova walked until she reached the part furthest away from the door, taking a seat on a stool, not even sparing a glance to the sole employee at the cash register.

_'Interesting. I never saw a Faunus with feathered arms... Is he some kind of bird? Maybe a vulture? Sigh, whatever...'_

The pale girl crossed her legs elegantly and smirked at her taller companion. _"Some vloggers usually like to take photos on this spot since its perfect for elaborate posts on Instantagram. I like it for the sole fact that I can actually sit closer to whomever I happen to be talking to."_

Yang eyed the colorful pictures of different kinds of ice cream on the wall. _‘That is pretty obvious… But I can see why this spot is used by vloggers. Those pictures have some good puns…Hah, I liked it.'_

"So, you usually take other girls here?" Yang crossed her arms and gave Nova a lopsided smile. "I can't imagine that they would be willing to meet you as I did."

_"You would be surprised."_ Nova bit her lips. _"Now, I want to show you something nice."_

Before the blonde could even ask, her shorter companion gently left her umbrella over the counter. Then, the pale girl placed her hand inside her top – which made Yang's eyes grow as big as saucers – and took her scroll.

_‘Those are some big tatas for someone so small… Wait, I shouldn't be thinking about this stuff in the first place! And when did she hide her scroll on her breasts?!'_

Nova opened the device and tapped a few buttons. She calmly placed her scroll on the counter and signed at her. _"I think you will like this."_

The blonde looked at the scroll and pressed the conspicuous play button on the screen. Immediately, a recording started and she noticed that this particular video was from that night at Junior's club.

It was a bit weird seeing another view of the wreck she left on those morons but also raised a few questions. She pressed again at the screen, making the video stop and turned her attention back to Nova.

"You really were telling me the truth when you said you were there."

Nova scoffed, apparently slight offended. _"Of course I was. Geez, what kind of woman do you take me for, Yang? I told you that I was interested in your fighting skills, there's no doubt about it."_

"Yeah, that's something, all right…" Yang trailed off. "Still, it doesn't explain how someone beautiful as you were there, and why I didn't notice it before."

The pale girl raised a hand and covered her lips, her shoulders trembling slightly.

_"So, you think I'm beautiful? How adorable."_

Yang blinked, frowned and finally shrugged off the remark. "I'm only stating the facts. I would have to be blind to not see the obvious."

Then the blonde pointed at the scroll over the counter. "But this doesn't really tell me anything that I didn't already know."

_"But it confirms that I want to know more about you, if I wasn't interested, I wouldn't have bothered to record you royally whipping the club's floor with those idiots' asses."_ The white-haired girl smiled again. _"It was so good to see that arrogant prick being overwhelmed by a hottie like you. I would pay major lien for you to beat him up again over and over just for the joy of seeing him crawl."_

The blonde snickered. "Girl, you have issues…"

_"So I've been told, not that I really care."_ Nova shrugged. _"Now, is there something about me that you want to know?"_

"Oh, just like that? Fine, let me think of something…" Yang pondered for a moment and decided to just ask whatever came to her head. "Why do you carry an umbrella with you?"

_"Allow me to correct you, this isn't an umbrella. This is actually a parasol, even if it can be used as an umbrella since I chose a waterproof one."_ Nova hugged herself, looking slight bothered. _"I'm not sure if you are aware, but as an albino, I have quite the sensitive skin. I just don't have the required melanin to stand under the sun without at least a few tiresome consequences to my health. My hair and eyes are also due to this fact. My eyes aren't red because of red pigments; I don't really have any. Instead, they only appear red because my irises reflect light from my blood vessels."_

"Are… Are you saying that the red from your eyes is actually... Your blood?" Yang trailed off and felt incredibly awkward. "I… I don't know what to say. I didn't expect you to have a valid reason for any of that. I'm sorry that I asked."

Nova shrugged. _"Ah, don't you worry, Yang. I'm pretty much ok with that. You see, when you are like a blank canvas, you can choose any color to add to yourself. Any and everything can be part of you if you allow it. The colors of others cannot affect me if I don't let them."_

There was a powerful weight to what Nova gesticulated at her. It filled Yang's mind with a strange feeling and somehow relaxed her.

_‘Maybe she would understand. Maybe she would get it. They say that it is easy to lay off your problems to strangers since their opinions aren't biased. Perhaps I can at least take this thing off my chest to someone, and maybe she won't judge me.'_

"Can I tell you a secret?" The blonde shyly asked. "I kind of need to say this to someone or I think I will end up going crazy."

The pale girl perked up and nodded eagerly.

"Not to boast, but from as long as I remember, I always was… Popular. Like, boys would climb over themselves just to talk to me and ask me out." Yang frowned and scoffed. "But in truth… I never really cared for any of that. Like, back when I was studying at Signal Academy, - when this first started - I refused them since I didn't have any interest in anyone, especially those who don't understand what the word ‘no' meant. It didn't last though, since some fellas started to spread out rumors about me, saying that I was weird and a freak for not wanting to date anyone. I couldn't take it anymore so I started to accept some of their advances and I even dated a few guys… Just so that I could be left alone."

Nova nodded, frowning slightly. _"I see. It must have been quite annoying for you."_

"Yeah. It was. I learned that by just going with the flow, a lot of people will ignore most of what you do… As long as you look like everybody else." Yang bitterly said, clenching her fists. "Until you get used to it and you no longer can remember when you didn't behave like they wanted you to. I just… I wish I could just-"

Nova stood up and gently cradled the blonde's fists between her hands, then, she carefully pried Yang's fists open and made her hold her hands until she felt the blonde relax.

When Yang calmed down, the pale girl released her hold on her. She started to sign. _"I have an idea. How about we choose each other's ice cream? That ought to be fun."_

This brought a smile to Yang's face. "Heh, I can choose anything? You will regret that you know."

Nova seemed excited rather than worried. _"There's no such thing as a bad ice cream. Now, what exactly do you want to put on my mouth?" _

The blonde felt her entire face flush and to her own surprise… She found that she didn't dislike that.

"I… Uh…" Yang gulped, trying to keep her cool, which wasn't really working if the shorter girl's increasingly smile was of any indication. "…Can I see the menu?"

With a flourish, Nova mockingly bowed and gestured to a menu over the counter. _"Be my guest, Goldilocks, but I am warning you, there's nothing on the menu that will phase me."_

Trying to spare herself from further embarrassment at that little girl's hands, Yang quickly eyed her options.

_‘I won't let her tease me like that. I need to get back at her… But what can I use?'_ By looking at the flavors displayed, Yang was sure none of them would do much to Nova. However, as she flipped the page, she saw a small ad attached to it. It read:

Seasonal limited flavor: Ghost Pepper Ice Cream! Directly from Vacuo, try the new flavor that will challenge even the most refined taste buds!

_‘This is it! Thank the Gods for small favors!' _Yang smirked in triumph. _‘I will show her who is the boss!'_

"Hey shorty, I got your ice cream right here!" The blonde pointed at the Ghost Pepper flavor. "Let's see if you can gobble that."

The white-haired girl gave her a huge smile, her eyes glinting in excitement. _"Ohh, I never have tried this one! I cannot wait to taste it; finally, get to feel it sliding over my tongue and filling my entire mouth."_

Again, Yang felt herself turn into a deep shade of red.

_‘Man, is she saying those things on purpose or am I too much of a pervert? ARGH!'_

Yang covered her face with her hands, muttering. "Goddamnit, Nova…"

_"My turn! I want you to try this one!"_ The shorter girl pointed to a Neapolitan Sundae. _"This one is really good."_

The way that Nova was smiling at her while making the gestures, made Yang raise an eyebrow. Neapolitan ice creams were quite common, even if this happened to be a sundae.

_‘Then why the name of fuck she wants me to try it? Why isn't she trying to prank me or something?'_

"Ok…" Yang trailed off. "Now that we're settled, let's get them, shall we?"

Both of them walked until they reached the cashier. The cashier was reading and barely noticed them approaching, but as soon as Nova snapped her fingers, the man straightened his back and nervously greeted them. "H-Hello! A-Are you both ready to o-order?"

_‘Huh? Why is this guy so nervous?'_

Nova snapped her fingers again and pointed at the two ice cream flavors letting her fingers drum over the ice cream counter. Her eyes narrowed and the cashier shivered. "R-Right away, ma'am! If you just s-sign this term of consent for the G-Ghost Pepper f-flavor, I-"

The pale girl stopped drumming her fingers and her entire face lost any emotion. However, instead of relaxing, this actually made the cashier go even further into a fit of nerves, his hands trembling as he babbled. "N-Nevermind! I-I will g-get your orders! S-So p-please, don't be angry!"

Nova frowned again and made a clipped sound. She pointed to a strawberry soda and a glass of milk on the menu and smiled at the man. Then she grabbed Yang's hands and brought them back to where they were previously sitting.

That exchange, however, didn't sit well with the blonde.

"Nova, slow down for a sec, why is that man so afraid of you?" The blonde raised an eyebrow. "Did that guy do anything or what?"

The white-haired girl scoffed, gesturing with obvious disdain. _"A few weeks ago, he bothered me, my brother and a few acquaintaces, making unnecessary remarks that greatly upset us. I put him in his place and made him know that I'm not to be messed with."_

"I feel ya. Back where I came from, there was this guy who annoyed me by trying to sabotage my sister's weapons schematics. Damn, he was so jealous of her skills that he actually tried to get her hurt. Since he wouldn't stop, I broke his fingers so he wouldn't attack her anymore. My dad got up in my case about it but it was so worth it. No one ever bothered my sister again."

Yang felt a twinge of discomfort as she said those words. It wasn't often that she would talk about things like losing her cool, especially with a stranger. Hell, she knew she shouldn't say anything at all since everyone always assumed the worst about her temper.

Why would this girl think any different from everyone else?

_"That's a good attitude. You always have to protect who is important to you, or others will seek to destroy them."_ Nova gestured, smiling brightly.

The blonde felt confused and slight touched by the fact the shorter girl couldn't care less about it. She truly was so… Unusual.

"You are a strange girl, you know that, right?" Yang said even as she smiled at her companion. "But I kind of dig that about you. Just saying."

Nova merely shrugged the blonde's words with a wink and cheeky smirk. _"Goldilocks, I'm awesome, and of course everyone digs me, I'm the hottest thing that exists. Everyone wants a piece of this"_

Then Nova playfully slapped her own waist, letting her hands trail up, cupping her breasts, giving them a slight squeeze, and finally making her hands rest gently over her knees.

She did all of those things… And acted as if she hadn't done anything at all.

Yang raised a hand and playfully poked the shorter girl's belly, eliciting a small gasp and a quiet giggle. "Not with that attitude, shorty, even if I have to admit that you are hot and all."

Both girls snickered, poking and playfully pushing each other in turn. They kept doing their childish game, lost in their own little world until the nervous cashier – now acting as their waiter - appeared with their dishes.

"H-Here it is!" The waiter/cashier awkwardly said, earning a dirty look from both girls for intruding, which in turn made him flinch and quickly set their ice creams and the beverages on the counter, finally making his retreat to the cash stand.

"Heh, I see what you meant, this guy seemed fishy-" Before Yang could finish talking, Nova had taken four small sticks from her back pocket and impaled the ice creams and their beverages with each of them. "Uh, why did you do that?"

The white-haired girl rolled her eyes. _"You said yourself, this guy is fishy. Therefore, we can't know for sure if he didn't put anything in our food when we weren't looking, so with these little things right there we will know if he tried to do something stupid."_

"Lady, chill out, it's just a creepy guy. I don't think that we need to be that paranoid-"

_"You'd be surprised, Yang. Believe me, I know how those vermin think. I'm not taking any chances."_

The blonde shrugged, and muttered a simple ‘suit yourself', turning back her attention to the forgotten scroll over the counter.

"You know, you are remarkably good at filming stuff, and taking photos if those selfies you have send to me are anything to go by."

_"Aww, how adorable! If you wanted more of me, you just had to ask!"_ Nova signed, and Yang had the distinct feeling she was being sarcastic.

"Bah, you say that, but you were the one who stalked me so I could beat you up or whatever." Yang triumphantly quipped.

The pale girl blinked once, twice and shook her head, her shoulders trembling slightly as if she was holding her laugher. _"Point taken. Still, you wanted to see me, or you wouldn't be here."_

Yang's cheeks flushed slightly. "W-Well! You wanted to fight me, and no one ever wanted to be around me for that. You can't fault me for being curious."

_"Precisely why you are so interesting to me. I wonder about your sheer power, but as I said, you are no match for me, even if your already pretty eyes change into that beautiful crimson color."_ Nova turned her head towards their food and drinks; picking up the sticks she inserted in them, and seemly analyze their results. _"It's clear. He didn't poison anything and look at that, he didn't even spit on it. I guess we're safe for the moment."_

"I wouldn't count on that. I did choose a very _nice_ dessert for you, heh."

Nova discarded the sticks in the trash can and glanced at her ice cream. She gently let her spoon slowly dig in its surface. _"Then pay close attention to me, Yang. I want you to really see this."_

The blonde felt a slight shiver running through her body, the way that shorter girl looked at her as she raised the spoon with the ice cream closer and closer to her lips, how she gave it a playful lick with the tip of her tongue, before finally letting it get inside of her mouth.

_‘Gods… What is with this girl and why am I turned on by that?'_ Yang couldn't help herself but gulp nervously at the quiet moans of appreciation that Nova was making. There was something almost lewd in her actions, the way she was eating her food, licking her lips when part of the melted ice cream slid at one corner of her mouth, only to have its descending path interrupted by an elegant, manicured tip of a finger. The tip of a finger that Nova was currently sucking on while she glanced at her.

_‘Oh no. She knows. Damn, I need to calm down!'_

Quickly, and trying her best to not cover her entire face in embarrassment, Yang picked her own spoon and started to eat her Neapolitan Sundae, letting its three distinct flavors distract her from her thoughts and whatever they meant.

But as it happens, Yang didn't quite remember at that moment that no one in their right mind should try to eat ice cream that fast…

"Ow! Brain freeze!" The blonde stood up from the chair, grabbed her own head and let the uncomfortable sensation pass. She chanced a glance at her companion, only to find her laughing. Well, as quiet as she seemly ever were.

Nova pointed at her, still trembling head to toe, covering her mouth with the tips of her fingers, giving the blonde a mischievous look. _"Hah! That's what you get for trying to trick me, Goldilocks!"_

Yang giggled, answering the girl with a grin and thumbs up. Nova shook her head and started sipping her strawberry soda, leaving Yang the glass of milk. That made Yang raise an eyebrow.

"Hey Nova, why did you ask for a glass of milk and why do I have to drink it?"

The white-haired girl snickered in her usual way. _"Oh, you know, milk is good for those who are tasting something spicy and hot, it helps to remove the burn. I thought you would need it, or else you wouldn't be able to keep up with me."_

Yang's bafflement made the shorter girl give her a wink and she took a sip of her strawberry soda.

_‘Crap, if this keeps up, that girl won't ever take me seriously. I need to change this, now!'_

"Ok, I get the picture." As she said those words, Yang noticed that Nova leaned her hands over the counter, seemly amused at her. The blonde took a deep breath and continued speaking. "Anyways, if my memory doesn't fail me, you had said something about challenging me to a fight, so how about we talk about that?"

_"Of course. Let me ask a few things about you first!"_ The pale girl eagerly gesticulated. _"You are going to start your year at Beacon, so, as a gesture of good faith, I want you to keep learning all you can from that combat school for precisely one month, then after this time has passed, we can choose a secluded location for our fight."_

"What? That doesn't make any sense. We can fight-" The blonde trailed off as she reminded herself that Nova wasn't exactly armed. She only had her cute umbrella and that wasn't exactly a weapon. "-Uh, soon, rather than wait for a month. Are you that afraid of me?"

Nova shook her head negatively. _"I'm not afraid, dear Yang. I just want you for myself when you're are prepared, stronger and ready for my special touch."_

_‘Not even a damn minute and here she goes again saying this kind of stuff to me. Heh, and they say that I'm a tease.'_

"Please tell me that we still are talking about our fight and not something else…"

The pale girl raised her eyebrows, in a mocking expression of shock. _"Dearest, what else could be talking about?"_

Then, Nova's demeanor changed and as she signed to Yang, she kept an unamused expression. _"Listen, I don't want to fight you by surprise, I don't want to get bored and honestly, I think that your pride can take a hike for a month. You know that fighting now would only be ruining our fun."_

Yang pouted slightly, and Nova rolled her eyes. _"You know that is true."_

The blonde shrugged. "Actually, I don't really know anything concrete about you, so you cannot really say that to me."

Nova frowned, resting her chin over the palm of her hands, deep in thought. After a few moments, she lazily stared at the blonde with a crooked smile and winked at her before gesticulating an answer.

_"Then let's try something fun: you may ask me anything and I will answer. However, I will only answer two questions."_

"Only two questions? That's so not fair! You know a bunch of stuff about me and I know not a lick about you except the fact you really love ice cream, apparently is immune to pepper, have a health condition, wants to fight me and your first name." Yang finished listing what she could safely assume about her shorter companion.

_"Goldilocks, most people don't know even that about me. You should consider yourself lucky. Besides-"_ Nova stood up and moved closer, tapping the blonde's nose. _"-You can always ask me out on_ _more dates. Each date, you get two new questions."_

Yang sighed. "Is that all part of a convoluted plan to get me to ask you out?"

Instead of answering her immediately, the white-haired girl moved even closer and closer to the blonde, making Yang sit back on her stool, with both of Nova's hands gently trapping her in place.

Then, she slowly raised a hand and picked her scroll from the counter, typing on it, then showing the blonde her answer:

** _Vacherin: I don't need to make plans when it is something that you want to do._ **

Yang couldn't fault her logic and gave Nova a nod. The pale girl stepped back from her and put the scroll on her back pocket. This gave the necessary time for the blonde to regain her composure.

"All right. Let me ask my two questions already. Let me see…" The blonde pondered what she could possibly ask this mysterious girl, finally deciding in her two questions. "Do you intend to kill me during our fight?"

The answer came fast enough. _"No. I do not seek to kill you or torture you during our battle nor outside of it."_

Then, as if in an afterthought, the pale girl smirked and added. _"But death by teasing? Now that's something that I can do to you any time you want."_

The blonde was taken aback for a moment before she laughed and shook her head. "You're a riot, Nova."

_‘Now, to my second question…'_

"Do you know anything about this woman?" Yang picked her scroll and showed Nova the same picture she had shown Junior that night in the club. "I need to find her and anything you can tell me about her would be appreciated."

Nova seemed surprised at the question but quickly focused on the picture, carefully analyzing it. She shook her head negatively, which in turn made the blonde feel the same familiar disappointment that usually followed her whenever this woman was involved.

She lowered her head, staring at her sneakers, almost tasting the bitter feeling of loss.

_‘I don't know why I had expected something different.'_

The pale girl gently tilted Yang's chin, making her look at her. The blonde raised an eyebrow but perked up slightly when Nova started to sign. _"Hey, I don't know who that woman is, but I might be able to help you to look for her if you do just one thing for me."_

"What do you want?"

_"When we fight each other, if you manage to burn me with the fire of your semblance, I promise that I will help you find her, or at the very least point you in the right direction. Deal?"_

That was more than she ever expected from this mysterious girl, and for that, Yang was secretly thankful.

_"Ah, look at that! You already used your two personal questions for the day. I guess you will have to wait for the next date to learn more about me."_ Nova playfully gesticulated, letting a finger twirl around one of the blonde's thick locks of hair. _"Now, there's just one little thing to do."_

"And what that would be; shorty?" Yang said amusedly at the girl's antics. "Are you going to steal a kiss or something? Not that I would give it to you."

Nova's smile turned almost sharp at those words, and she wasted no time in grabbing both of Yang's tank top shoulder straps, yanking her closer, but before their lips could meet, the pale girl moved her head slightly, landing a small kiss right between her eyebrows.

As she backed away from the clearly befuddled blonde, Nova signed with a wolfish grin.

_"Catch me and find out, Yang."_

Then as quick as the blink of an eye, Nova picked up her parasol, threw at the counter the needed lien to pay for their meal, bowed at the still perplexed blonde and left the ice cream store in a hurry.

It took a minute before Yang felt her body calm down enough to attempt to follow her, but sadly for her - as she left the store with barely a glance at the far more relieved cashier - the pale girl had simply vanished.

"Damn, I lost her…" Yang muttered. "How she manages to run so fast in such high heeled boots it's beyond me…"

Then, she felt her scroll vibrate in her pocket. The blonde picked it and opened it quickly, noticing that she had received a message on her ‘Nice Cream’ app.

** _Vacherin: I had lots of fun today, Goldilocks. We should hang out at least once per week, don't you think? I can show you a lot of awesome places._ **

The blonde typed her answer.

** _Fireballin17: Hey, I also had fun today, and I totally agree, we should do this again. We should go clubbing sometime._ **

Yang smiled as she read Nova's answer.

** _Vacherin: As long it isn't at the Three Little Bears. Hei Xiong couldn't choose a better setlist for his club if his pathetic life depended on it._ **

_‘Who is…'_ The blonde frowned for a moment when she made the connection between what Nova said and what she knew. _‘Oh. So that's his real name.'_

** _Fireballin17: Lmao! I didn't know that's was Junior's real name. But I agree with you, he could put something more stylish. I want to shake my body to a nicer beat. Not to mention, I asked for my drink with a cute umbrella and I got neither of them._ **

A quick answer appeared at her cheeky teasing.

** _Vacherin: And I cannot wait to dance with you, Goldilocks. Getting in synch together will be quite the experience, I believe. Oh, and don't worry about it. I promise you; you will be getting your umbrella and some more._ **

"Geez, she really is good at those things…" Yang muttered to herself, smiling gently as she eyed the message. "I better head back…"

She decided to walk back to the hotel. The blonde shook her head, absentmindedly touching her cheek, feeling it warming up.

Nova was a tease, and she genuinely appreciated being the target of someone's attention for a change. Whatever that might mean in her future.

\---

Neo patiently watched the blonde leaving the street with her blushing cheeks without being noticed. Perhaps if the lilac eyed-girl had bothered to look up as she left the ice cream shop, she would have noticed that there was an awning over the porch protecting the shop's entrance from the sun… And over it, she would have seen her.

However, Yang was too much distracted by the messages on her scroll to notice this little detail.

Neo sighed and jumped down from her vantage point right back at the floor, entering the ice cream shop again.

She needed to do something else before she headed to the main hideout.

"AH! Y-You're b-back!" The cashier stuttered and trembled at the sight of her. "D-Do you need s-something else?"

Neo shook her head negatively, turning her attention to the store window's display controls, turning them off together with its lights, letting everything be engulfed into darkness.

She could hear the gasps and the whines that the man was making. Fear for his life. So fearful.

_‘But he should have known better than to try to rat us out to the pigs. This worthless animal should have known that when Roman and I demand obedience we weren't to be messed with… And he should know that I never forgive bad manners.'_

Almost soundlessly, Neo took her hidden blade from her parasol. She approached the man, perfectly knowing that he was capable of seeing her in the dark with his infravision, but knowing that the whole situation only made her seem more threatening, from the way she stalked him each time he tried to run from one point to the other, to how she calmly avoided anything he threw at her.

"Please forgive me! I-I-I will-" His tirade was cut short by the blade impaling his shoulder, which made him scream in pain. With one hand, Neo tapped an answer on her scroll, turning the artificial voice on so he could hear what she wrote.

** _"I don't appreciate rudeness, and you will pay for that. Not for anything you have done today, but for before. Hah, look at the bright side, I will enjoy terrorizing you."_ **

Then, she knocked him out unconscious. As she eyed her soon to be victim, she sends a few messages to the ‘cleaning crew', so they could help her prepare the scene just in case someone tried to look a little too much into the fate of the shop's owner. Roman had already taken the deed of the store so he could give it to another one of his temporary White Fang's goons since his employer demanded a better… Cooperation between them.

Nevertheless, no one would bat an eye if a stupid rancid animal like this Faunus decided to off himself out of the blue. He was a vulture Faunus, after all.

_‘Heh. I got the perfect idea for dealing with him.'_

Neo grabbed the money she had previously thrown at the counter. No reason to give more to the next animal who would be working here.

Then she waited for the crew to arrive. As soon as they finished their work, her and that soon to be dead animal would go straight to the warehouse.

\---

When the man woke up a few hours later, probably feeling his eyes sore for having his eyelids forcefully parted by the thick duct tape attached to them.

Neo already had everything set for her needed job. Roman had instructed her to give those White Fang's morons a reminder that they shouldn't get too chummy with them. Therefore… Here she was making an example.

"Mhff!" The man tried to speak but the tight gag around his mouth didn't allow him to properly form words.

Good. Then it was all the better.

Neo was with her back to him, just finishing adding the liquid nitrogen to the cream and syrup in the bowl laying over the iron table. She whistled a song as she used the steel spoon, mixing its contents, watching as the cream adopted a frozen consistency, feeling the cold fog coming out from the mixture. As the fog lessened, and the mixture turned into the ice cream consistency she was looking for, Neo picked her scroll from the table and activated the messages she had carefully chosen as the voice over for their one-sided conversation.

She needed them to hear it to make everything work. It wouldn't do if this guy was the only one affected. She had a role to play, after all.

** _"You know, about this torture stuff…If I do it with things that are familiar to you, doesn't it feel much scarier? I mean, the tools you think nothing of using in your daily life, harmless and seemly safe. However, If I used those same things to mess you up... That would leave a real trauma…"_ **

Neo picked a portion of the ice cream from the bowl with her spoon and place them on a sundae cup. Then, she turned to the panicked Faunus with a smile, lazily tapping on her scroll the next messages to start.

** _"Now then, I would like three scoops of ice cream if you don't mind. I got one here in my cup, I just need to grab two more of you…"_ **

The man tried even more desperately to escape as he understood what she was getting at. The spoon slowly approached one of his opened frightened eyes.

**_"Here! Just say ‘ahhh'!"_** The fake voice said out loud as Neo smiled and calmly let the spoon follow its intended path.

The man's desperate ear-piercing screams of pain as Neo got what she wanted of him and the sudden shot of a gun that followed would forever haunt every one of the White Fang's members in this place.

Roman would be pleased… And this is all that counts in the end. No matter the cost.

\---

** _Fireballing17: Hey petit sundae, can you at least tell me your surname? Pleaaaaase? _ **

Neo shook her head, thinking to herself that the girl was a little pushy but considering that talking to her made the two-toned girl feel a little better after what she had to do, she decided to cut her some slack.

** _Vacherin: All right, I will tell you since I liked this new nickname you gave me. My surname is Cosmo._ **

Yang typed her answer and Neo silently chuckled when she read it.

** _Fireballing17: That's a hell of a pretentious name for such a small lady, Ms. Nova Cosmo._ **

With a small smile, she quickly answers her.

** _Vacherin: Oh, you know what they say, the smaller packages hide the best fragrances… And I don't want to hear you talking about it when your name is literally the mistralian translation for Little Sunshine Dragon. Hm… I guess I just got a new nickname for you, my dearest Sunshine._ **

It truly amused Neo endlessly to watch that a message was being written and erased, and after some time, Yang finally got the guts to finish writing something.

** _Fireballing17: Fire melts ice cream, therefore I won._ **

Neo laughed and fondly typed an appropriate answer.

** _Vacherin: We will find out who will melt who soon enough, my Sunshine. Now, have a good night, we can talk later._ **

Even if she wanted to keep exchanging words with the blonde, Neo needed to stay put, at least until Roman arrived and they could discuss the next course of action. After all, her friend would tell her more about the future steps they needed to take to advance their goals.

After half an hour, he arrived at the warehouse, with a new set of cargo filled with dust. She tilted her head and gave him an affectionate smile, which made him ruffle her two-toned hair.

"So, I heard that those mangy fellows got back in line and I bet a smart little lady that I adore with all my heart was responsible for it. Do you know someone like that?"

Neo simply gave her auburn fraternal brother a mocking shove and signed to him an answer. _"I took care of the leak and I made everyone hear the memo, all the while I was having a really good time with this girl that I met. No worries."_

"Glad to hear it, sis. Now then, let us discuss our next dust heist! I think I will need a hand while dealing with some nuisances."

The two sentimental siblings discussed what they needed to do; all the while Neo smiled fondly at the memories of her day with her little golden sunshine.

_‘Yang, I believe I will be the one melting you.'_

And when Neo finally got time to sleep, the blonde girl was all that she dreamed of.

Perhaps Yang could also melt her, in time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There it is, the second chapter... And all that really happened.
> 
> Yes, Neo scooped that faunus eyeballs with the ice cream spoon and killed him soon enough... So to help curb any thoughts of deserting and to send a message that they would be killed if they didn't know their place. No, she did not enjoy that, but she did it anyway. After all, she would do anything to protect who is important to her. The whole eye scene was inspired by a scene in the Danganronpa anime. I changed it a little but it was similar.
> 
> Yes, Neo, just like Roman, has a lot of disdain/prejudice against faunus. She has her reasons, but she will grow out of her hate... Eventually.
> 
> Yes, Neo pretended to be an albino so she could bring her parasol with her without alerting Yang that it was her weapon... And to lower her guard around her. Why? Oh, its true that Yang intrigues her and that she finds her to be beautiful, but what she really wants is to fight her, and something else(that I won't say for now) related to her own beliefs that requires her to act in such subtle way. Think of if as something similar as a cat playing with a mouse.
> 
> Yang is starting to get interested in 'Nova'. That ought to be good... Until it isn't... Or is it?
> 
> Also, Yang might learn a few things from 'Nova'... And vice versa.
> 
> Roman and Neo's relationship in this story is of close friends, like brother and sister. They regard each other as family and there's nothing that they won't do for each other. Nothing... And that is so important.
> 
> The ghost pepper Ice cream do exist. Neo really loved its flavor, much to Yang's bafflement.
> 
> And finally, yes, Neo will keep teasing Yang. She loves to fluster her.
> 
> Please leave a comment, I would love to read what you think of the chapter, and I always answer them. Those are like the soul of an story!
> 
> Lots of hugs to you all and see you at the next chapter.


	3. Hey There

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yang start attending Beacon and Neo helps Roman with a job.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! Here it is another chapter. I don't know why I wanted to make four drawings. I never did that and that is something unusual for me. Nevertheless, I am happy with them and I hope you all can enjoy them.
> 
> This chapter has a lot of references, hints for the future chapters and etc. I wonder if you all can find them?
> 
> Anyways, I'm probably tired from all the drawings and writing that I just finished. So, excuse me if I forgot something. XD
> 
> I will see you all at the end notes!
> 
> EDIT: So, now that I am a little more rested, I will add a few things:  
Noire Taille is Neo's persona that she used during the Vytal festival. Roman has a counterpart to it, although since his disguises are more dependent on material things than Neo's(who only has to use her semblance to materialize a different appearence), he won't have as many disguises as his little sister.
> 
> "Small Store of Terrors" is a quite obvious reference to the musical "Little Shop of Horrors".

The settlement of Lower Cairn wasn't as lively as one would expect. Sure, they had more than two hundred people living in it, but it still was a village, albeit a well-populated one.

Normally, neither Neo nor Roman would have any interest turning their attentions to such irrelevant place since their base of operations were located in the capital - along with their many hideouts and warehouses scattered across different locations. However, things have changed.

Namely: a heavy dust-filled airship from Vacuo was said to have crashed around these mountains three days ago.

Dust that Roman’s boss needed.

Therefore, here they are, although they aren't going to do much work, after all, why should they scour those Grimm infested mountains for the missing cargo when they could let the Huntsmen in the area do the dirty work for them? Ah, and the cherry on top: when the Huntsmen finally bring the cargo to this village, and before they can, in turn, bring it to the capital; they won't be expecting to be attacked.

_‘Roman has the right idea. The Huntsmen will be either tired from their incursion or too surprised to become a real threat to us. I do hope they don't struggle that much. Blood and guts take forever to be removed from my clothes. Not to mention, I still don’t have my brother skills in cleaning those pesky stains and I really don’t want to bother him to do that again after so soon.’_

Neo had a flash of the eyes she had gouged out of the traitor from two days back. They felt almost like gelatin when she had them between her fingers and as a sponge when she squished them in her hands.

She had hidden and heard some of the White Fang’s members talking between themselves about her and what she had done to the leak. While Neo was satisfied that they were scared of her, - and by consequence, of disobeying Roman – she felt disgusted when she learned that like any tale that increases with each passing telling, they added details that she certainly didn’t do.

_‘Although, I shouldn’t be that much surprise. Of course, with them being Faunus - and clearly more primitive and untrustworthy in general - that would lead them to believe that humans behave as they would. That’s why they think that I would have the gall to devour those eyes, without considering that only animals like them would do that. Like they will always end up doing if given the chance… Roman is right: It's in their nature...’_

Nevertheless, as soon as she had heard them spilling those lies about her, she almost vomited. It made her feel so very sick to be compared to them… And she knew for a fact that Roman would kill those two White Fang’s members if he knew that they had upset her this much.

But Neo was nothing if not professional. Why bother Roman with such small thing if she could turn this into something useful to him? If two henchmen decided to gossip about something that she could use as leverage to draw their fear and to allow Roman to better control them… It was worth it. After all, wasn’t that the entire point of torturing that guy before killing him? To make them fearful?

So this horrible reputation must be of some use. It had to be. She owned everything to her brother, her chosen family. Nothing else mattered in the end.

That was the reason why she decided to keep herself hidden and let the two henchmen alive.

Neo was glad that Yang had sent those messages on their app. That certainly cheered her up. Later, when Roman had arrived at the warehouse, she felt even more relieved since he helped her clean her clothes from the blood. It was nice to be pampered and filled Neo's heart with happiness to know he wasn't too proud to admit – at least to her - that he adored his little sister.

_‘Still… I wish those Huntsmen would just hurry up so I can return to the city. I’m already annoyed that I couldn’t see Goldilocks getting into her fancy Beacon airship. I bet she looked cute.’_

Before she could keep delving too much in those thoughts, Neo felt a few taps over her shoulder, and she noticed that her friend had entered the room.

“Hey Neo, a few guys from the Fang have spotted two Huntsmen carrying a huge dust container. They will arrive in a few hours, so here’s the plan: We meet them along the path, beat them up and we can all leave this Hicksville of a town for something more to our tastes.” Roman tipped his hat with a smile, his eyes almost sparkling. “How about we get some disguises so we can catch a movie? I wonder if we can see some nice musicals on the big screen for a change. I heard there’s a new rendition of _ 'Small Store of Terrors’_, and I know how much you like this one.”

Neo smiled back and started to sign her answer. _“Awesome! Musicals are always wonderful, but the 'Small Store of Terrors' is incredible. I will use my Noire Taille mask, what do you think?”_

“That’s a wonderful idea, I will disguise myself as Monsieur Beaufort Taille so we can match each other’s looks. Our outfits will be amazing.” Roman opened the door with a mock bow. “Ladies first.”

The girl with two-toned hair rolled her eyes and shook her head at her friend’s actions.

_‘Always the gentleman.’_

\---

_‘Why they had to be so moronic? Ugh.’_

The Huntsmen were surprised by their attack, and they resisted against them valiantly. However, while they could beat many of the White Fang’s minions, they were no match for her and Roman attacks.

Her friend was kind enough to offer them the chance of escaping with their lives if they left the cargo right there...

But of course, they just had to be stupid.

That’s why now one of them had more bullet holes than an Atlesian Allgäuer cheese and the other one was being skewed alive by her blade.

"Why they are always so dumb…" Her brother muttered as he shook his head at the bullet filled corpse. "Some people just fail at this natural selection stuff. It's like nature itself it's begging for their death since they are just too dimwitted to remain breathing."

Neo nodded in agreement, pushing the blade even further into the still alive Huntsman’s chest, making blood squirt out of the deep wound.

The Huntsman shrieked in pain. It was a deep sound, the kind that would certainly bother her ears, but it wasn’t enough to make her ignore her Scroll ringing noise.

It was the sound of a message being sent to her ‘Nice Cream’ app.

_‘A message from Yang. Let me see it right now!’_

Neo changed her blade from her hands, allowing her right hand to pick her Scroll from her pocket and she excitedly opened the app, a small smile in her face.

Yang had sent a selfie of her entering the airship and she was seemly dressed like that day on the bar. There were some written messages but what got her immediate attention was the voice message she had left her.

_‘Well, it's not like she can call me. She can only leave those voice messages, which would be pretty one-sided, but I can't do much about it…' _

With a half-smile and a raised eyebrow, Neo opened the voice message and pressed her Scroll to her ear; so she would be the only one listening to it.

** _Fireballing17: Hey there, little sundae! I guess I’m just letting you know that I boarded the airship and we’re taking a small detour right to the island of Patch, - which is where I come from, by the way – to pick other students. I know it’s a bit random of me, but I just wanted to let you know, I guess. I think I will take a selfie with my sister when she joins me at the ship and a few others at Beacon, just to show you around where I will be at. Later at night, - when I’m free to sleep – I will message you so we can talk for a while. Remember to stay up and answer them!_ **

_‘Cute.’_ Neo thought as she turned her attention completely at the messages received, quickly pulling the blade out from the Huntsman and slashing his neck, killing him. As she walked away from the man’s corpse, she smiled fondly at the messages received. _‘I guess I will do my best to stay put so I can answer my little Sunshine in time, it’s the least that I could do for her.’_

Neo whistled a happy song. Her day suddenly looked far better than before.

“You seem happy. Is that your new lady’s doing?” Roman asked the two-toned hair girl as he briefly eyed the corpses. He shrugged and motioned to the road to the city. “You have to tell me about her someday; right now, let’s bring this cargo to Vale. We do have to get cleaned and all the other stuff, you know the drill.”

The White Fang’s henchmen busied themselves with the cargo and throwing both of the dead Huntsmen corpses away from the path, probably to leave them to the creatures of the area to be devoured, and therefore, less of a problem for them. Grimm attacks weren’t uncommon out of big protected places, so the idea that those two men were killed by Grimm wouldn’t be anything new, nor unexpected.

Most importantly, all in a day’s work for someone like Neo.

The two fraternal siblings calmly returned to the place they had stationed their vehicles and safely set the cargo in its hold. As they drove back to the capital, Neo was decidedly in a wonderful mood.

\---

Yang was both happy and a little worried about her sister. Sure, it was amazing to be able to start their time in Beacon together, but it also was worrisome that Ruby still was unwilling to meet new people and make new friends by herself. It was heartwarming that she loved her older sister so much, but Ruby would never be able to function properly as a Huntress if she didn't take the time to make her own decisions, and that includes socializing with all kinds of people by herself.

It broke her heart to make an excuse to leave her sister to her own devices but it is as the _Animal Channel_ says: When the mother bird wants its babies to fly, she pushes them out of the nest.

However, she still had other problems to deal with… Namely, her so-called ‘friends' who once again were pressuring her to conform to their expectations…

"C'mon, Yang! Aren't you excited to meet all the handsome boys? I saw one so hot that I thought I would die from dehydration." Leona Golden, one of her oldest friends remarked excitedly. Then, with an almost too mischievous look, she added. "Or perhaps you are looking for someone exotic, maybe one of the teachers? I heard that Director Ozpin is a real zaddy."

“Eww, gross!” Yang immediately answered her, which made Leona and her two others ‘friends’ laugh at her. “Seriously, I think its too soon to be worried about this sort of thing, and please, let’s not think about our teachers like that. It’s disgusting.”

“You’re no fun, Yang.” Litill Birdcloth said as she rolled her eyes. “In fact, you’re acting all different. Did something happen, or are you currently banging someone?”

“Uh, I don’t think we should keep asking her those things, guys…” Hanna Griffin awkwardly muttered, only to receive annoyed stares from both Litill and Leona. “N-Nevermind…”

Rolling her eyes, Leona kept pushing the issue. “So, aren’t you gonna tell us?”

As far as Yang knew, she had two options, one, she would tell them to mind their own business and risk being harassed just like she initially was at Signal Academy; or she could make up some lies and let the matter drop, at least for now.

_‘What would Nova say? Not that I know her that well, but still…’_

The blonde got the distinct feeling that the pale girl would not only put those girls in their place, but she would also mock them for annoying her.

_‘Hm… Maybe I can do something about it…’_

So, with a smirk and a shrug, she finally answered them. “I will leave that to your imagination.”

The girls seemed a little taken aback with the answer.

“Anyways, I want to have a look around, so catch you later or whatever.” Yang waved as she walked away from the three confused girls.

In a way, she felt a little bad for being so dismissive of them, but it wasn't like they were really friends. Most of the time they were either using her for one reason or the other, and the blonde knew that eventually, this convenience that brought them together would disappear as they started their year at Beacon. Peer pressure sucked and frankly, Yang was tired of being stuck with people who kept pushing her to fit their standards.

_‘I’m not going to do anything that annoys me like that ever again. That is what Nova would do and I think she has the right idea. If that leave me friendless at the start of the term, then so be it.’_

In a way, it was like Yang was stuck in the same situation as her younger sister.

“I guess I also have to learn how to fly on my own…”

With a small laugh, Yang whistled a song, taking a few pictures from the campus so she could send them to her pale friend.

\---

_‘So that had happened… What a bunch of weirdos…’_ Yang thought as she finally lay on her bedroll. _‘Still, that Schnee girl could at least try to be less shrill. My ears are still ringing from her whines. Poor Ruby, she had to make that girl her enemy on her first day?’_

Yang snorted as she remembers how her sister and that prissy girl acted around each other. It was almost like a bickering old married couple. Perhaps the blonde could use that to annoy them if she feels like it in the future.

Someone in the room made a small ‘shhh’ sound, irritated with the snort that the blonde just made. From the direction it came, Yang thought it was that pretty girl with the bow.

_‘But that girl was weird too. Like, who would sleep with a bow tied over their head? Is her hair a wig or something? Not that it’s an issue or whatever, but that’s bizarre for sure, dude.’_

Yang would be lying if she said that the bookish girl didn’t have something intriguing going on that picked her attention. However, as life would have it, the blonde was already too engrossed in another mysterious girl, one that was far more approachable, even if she carried a very elusive flair.

_‘Speaking of which, I should send her some messages. She could have been waiting for me all along and here I am wasting time doing nothing. Let me just pick my Scroll…’_

The blonde grabbed her device and lowered its lights, so it wouldn’t bother the other students that were sleeping close to her. Then, she opened the ‘Nice Cream’ app and started to tap something.

** _Fireballing17: Good evening, Nova! Sorry for taking my time, but they had stuck all freshmen in this huge ballroom until we make our initiation. I guess whatever happens tomorrow will determine which team of four students we will be assigned to, so, for tonight, its cramped room for everyone. Yay, right?_ **

As Yang eagerly waited for an answer, she allowed her mind to picture how the initiation might go. Will they demand them to fight each other and the best will get to pick their teams? If that’s the case, then would she be taken as a hypocrite if she chose her sister to be part of it?

Or maybe it will be something else entirely? There’s no way that she could know what kind of thing the teachers had reserved for them. Not until tomorrow, that is.

The blonde’s thoughts were brought back to her Scroll when she noticed the icon showcasing that a message was being typed. She eagerly read it.

** _Vacherin: Oh, don’t be sad, my little Sunshine. I mean, you will only need to deal with this just for tonight and tomorrow you will ace your fancy initiation test. I hope you get a good team. It would be quite a shame to be stuck with a bunch of morons for what, the next four years? Believe me, I know the feeling well. There’s nothing more annoying than have incompetent little shits all around you who don’t seem to understand simple orders._ **

That got Yang’s attention.

** _Fireballing17: Speaking of which, you never told me if you did anything for a living. I mean, do you study or work? How old are you anyway?_ **

Yang expected a long and complex answer to her questions, but surprise, surprise, she got a quick answer instead.

** _Vacherin: I’m not answering any of that. =X_ **

That made her pout.

** _Fireballing17: Oh c’mon! Don’t be like that! At least tell me your age? Pretty please?_ **

_‘She can’t be that old. I bet she is younger than me. I mean, look at her!’_

** _Vacherin: If you want to know, you must ask me out on another date and use one of your two questions! >3_ **

The blonde groaned. This made another ‘shhh’ sound to be uttered across the room.

** _Fireballing17: You’re an evil woman!_ **

Yang could not help but smile at what she read.

** _Vacherin: You love that. Besides, it is part of my whole mysterious appeal, don’t you think? I mean, someone has to keep things exciting around here._ **

Her fingers quickly danced across the Scroll.

** _Fireballing17: Oh? Am not exciting enough for you?_ **

As Yang send the message, she didn’t receive an immediate answer. That allowed her a few moments to think of anything to tease her pale friend.

She was in the middle of elaborating a joke when she saw something that made her forget the previous line of thought.

Nova had sent her a picture. A_ sexy_ picture.

The picture in question was the white-haired girl laying on what seemed to be a fancy bed in a beautiful – and sexy – pinkish/red nightgown, with most of her body covered by a transparent fabric. To make matters worse, Nova was pulling her nightgown with one hand, and the transparency allowed the blonde to see the pale girl’s entire body, with her intimate parts barely covered. Yang nervously looked around herself trying to watch if anyone else could see the photo. When she deemed that it was safe enough, she carefully let her eyes roam eagerly at the beautiful image.

_‘This is quite the fancy lingerie… And oh man, she’s so hot…’_

Under the picture, there was a message attached:

** _Vacherin: Exciting enough to make me sweat in a cold room, Goldilocks._ **

The blonde gulped and felt a strange feeling spreading from the pit of her stomach, almost as if butterflies were fluttering its wings. Not quite uncomfortable, but paradoxically, it felt… _Good._

And that certainly turned her on. As she had noted on that other day, Nova had really big breasts for her height. She wondered how they would feel if she dared to touch them...

_‘Wait, I have to take my mind out of the gutter! She is just teasing me. It’s not serious, besides, I would never do anything without her consent. Argh! Why she is so attractive? This wasn’t supposed to happen!’_

Nevertheless, Yang knew that if Nova kept doing that to her, - joke or not - the blonde would probably be needing some ‘alone time’ to deal with the consequences of said hotness on her body. Right now, for instance, she felt wet just by looking at it.

Desperately trying to curb her thoughts from going haywire, - and potentially leaving her drenched - she tried to steer away from Nova’s alluring pose by asking something more technical.

** _Fireballing17: Did you use a selfie stick to make this shot?_ **

Nova quickly answered.

** _Vacherin: Indeed. It wouldn’t do at all to send you something clunky, my dear Yang. Besides, it can become quite useful in photo compositions._ **

_‘Can’t argue with that.’_

** _Vacherin: However, let me change the subject for a moment. I never got to say what I thought of the picture that you send me before. The one with your sister on it._ **

Yang curiously waited for her friend to complete her line of thought.

** _Vacherin: Your sister Ruby is very cute. Not as adorable as you are, but I got this urge to poke her. She looks feisty, so she also got my attention._ **

The blonde felt an uncomfortable sensation souring her mood.

** _Fireballing17: Don’t even think about it._ **

As she waited for her friend to finish writing, Yang pondered why she got so annoyed.

_‘It almost feels like jealousy. Weird. I don’t recall having many moments like this, so this is really unusual for me, but I guess Nova has this uncanny ability to make me feel things that I normally don’t. Hah… Maybe that is her semblance… Or being overly attractive.’_

That seemed reasonable enough if Yang was to rationalize her thoughts. Then she noticed that her pale friend had already written something in the app.

** _Vacherin: Don’t worry. It is you who I want to fight, therefore, you are the one that I’m going for. I just said that she got me curious. Little Red is a prodigy after all… But you got something else within you. This something is what is enthralling me so much, this fire within your soul. I cannot wait to finally be able to see it for real, so make sure to train as much as you can. I’m sure we can have lots of fun together._ **

It was bizarre, but that answer somehow helped to curb a few of the blonde’s insecurities.

So, she tried to shake her thoughts away from whatever that could mean. There was no point delving into it, at least right now.

** _Fireballing17: I bet you say that to every girl._ **

Yang holds her breath as she waited.

** _Vacherin: Not really, but it's not like you have the means to know for sure. However, one thing is certain, I like being around you._ **

The blonde felt her cheeks warming up.

** _Fireballing17: Aw, now who is the one being cute? Yes, you are!_ **

And Yang had to stifle her laughter when she received her message.

** _Vacherin: Rawl!_ **

Attached to the said message, Nova had sent a picture of herself, but on the top of her head was a pair of pointy ears drawn with a colorful crayon-like effect, with her nose also slightly painted with small whiskers.

_‘Is that a cat?’_

** _Vacherin: It might not be clear, but that was my attempt to draw fox features on me. _ **

_‘Oh right, that also works too.’_

** _Fireballing17: You are mischievous, so I get your meaning. You would look good as a Faunus, just saying._ **

Yang smiled as she imagined her elusive tiny friend with cute fox ears and a tail.

Her blush only deepened and she bit her lips.

_‘Thank God she isn’t one. I don’t think I could handle her being that cute. Not that she isn’t right now, but still! Everyone looks cuter with fluffy ears and tails!’_

The blonde felt a little shy, once again trying to shake her thoughts away from the depths of her imagination.

She was brought back to reality when she felt her scroll vibrate on her hands. As she eyed her message, she was befuddled.

** _Vacherin: Yang, I know you meant this as flattery, but please, never say that again. It is extremely insulting to me. Please respect that._ **

The blonde nervously tried to apologize.

** _Fireballing17: Nova, I’m sorry, I don’t know why you feel like that, but I wasn’t trying to insult you, I swear._ **

As she waited for the answer, almost holding her breath, the blonde thought to herself: Why would Nova feel so insulted? Is she one of those people who are prejudiced against the Faunus? If that was the case… Then why?

She couldn’t spend too much time thinking on it, though, for soon Nova message her again.

** _Vacherin: I should go now, and you should sleep. You will have a busy day tomorrow and I don’t want you to perform badly because I kept you awake._ **

The uncomfortable feeling returned.

** _Fireballing17: Have I ruined the conversation? That’s why you are dismissing me like that?_ **

Yang braced herself, anxiously waiting for anything that her friend might say, and at the same time, fearing what it could be.

** _Vacherin: Yes, you did, and while I don’t blame you for any of it, I feel that it's better to let myself relax. Don’t worry, Goldilocks, I’m not mad or anything. Just tired. Tomorrow we can talk some more, and I want to hear or read (your call, really!) what happened in your secret initiation test. I hope it involves a bottle of whipped cream._ **

The sudden whiplash on her friend’s message had thrown the blonde once again for another loop, and she felt herself at ease.

Nova apparently knew how to coach a smile out of her, no matter the situation.

** _Fireballing17: Well, I swear to you that if it does, I will take pictures just for you._ **

The pale girl didn’t wait a moment to tap her answer.

** _Vacherin: You got me so well, my Sunshine. Well, sleep tight and have a good night._ **

** _Fireballing17: You too, Shorty. Don’t catch a cold._ **

As the blonde turned the Scroll off for the night, she stared at the dark ceiling of the ballroom. She could hear the snores and the rustle of a few people trying to get comfortable enough to sleep.

Yang allowed herself to close her eyes and imagine being in the same room as the pale girl. She tried to imagine herself holding her hands and asking her why she felt uncomfortable to be compared to the Faunus and what she could do to help her feel better about it.

As she let her mind wander, she slowly was brought into a state of deep sleep.

\---

Yang stared down at the messages she had exchanged with her pale friend after the initiation. She skipped some of them and focused on a particular exchange she had.

** _Fireballing17: So… Now that you know what has happened at the initiation, it was time to learn who in our team would be the leader and what we would be called. Long story short: Ruby was chosen as the leader, which I’m sure got Weiss panties in a knot with how annoyed she got; Blake couldn’t care less about pretty anything - as usual; Rubes got happy and I was too busy laughing at the fact that our team also got the best name. RWBY!_ **

** _Vacherin: Lol… That will be so confusing, like, Ruby is the leader of the team that sounds like her own name. I bet the princess must be going insane with it._ **

**_Fireballing17: That’s_** **_right! I wish that I could have snapped a picture of the moment she realized that little fact. She was furious. I couldn’t help but laugh my ass off. Hell, even Blake was smiling and let me tell you, she has this whole Emo vibe going on, so that must have been quite the effort._**

** _Vacherin: Well, since she is your partner, she is bound to start smiling. I'm sure you can make her frown turn upside down with your extroverted attitude._ **

** _Fireballing17: Maybe, but I'm not holding my breath. She seems like the type who just enjoys being left alone and I don't want to force her to change, you know?_ **

** _Vacherin: Aw, look at that! So considerate. I want to pinch your cheeks._ **

** _Fireballing17: If you do that, I will pinch yours back, just saying._ **

** _Vacherin: Only if you manage to actually put your hands on me, dear Sunshine. Until then, I will keep dancing around you._ **

** _Fireballing17: Speaking of dancing, I want to invite you to go dance with me this Saturday. You in?_ **

** _Vacherin: Of course. Where?_ **

** _Fireballing17: It's just right across the Crow Bar. It is called ‘The Golden Goose'. I hear it is the bomb. _ **

** _Vacherin: Good. I will meet you there around, let’s say, 19:00? Do you have a curfew?_ **

** _Fireballing17: We do, like, the gates usually close around this time, but since you and I are going to party all night long, it is meaningless, don't you think?_ **

** _Vacherin: Keep talking like that and I will be dancing very close to you._ **

** _Fireballing17: I will be looking forward to that, Little Sundae._ **

They kept talking, but right now, that bit was occupying her thoughts.

She wondered what kind of outfit she would wear and if she would need to buy a new one.

“Hey! Be careful with that, Ruby! Your stupid bed almost hit me!” A familiar shout that couldn’t belong to no one but the prissy princess reverberated across the room, turning Yang away from her thoughts. “Do you have any idea how damaging a concussion can be? I don’t want to lose class because of you!”

Ruby flinched at Weiss's tone and quickened her setting of the overhanging bed. As much as it could pain her to admit, Weiss did have a point, Ruby's bed was a little too unstable. Not that her own bed was much better, it was propelled over four stacks of books, and if she wasn't careful it could be as dangerous as Ruby's.

But she likes the idea of not knowing what will happen, and Blake didn't seem to care either way. That certainly wasn't the case when Weiss and Ruby were concerned.

_‘Then again, the ice queen is distracted right now. Maybe I can get her to help me?'_

“So… Weiss!” Yang said as she approached the smaller girl. “I can help you with this bed bunker thing, I mean, make it more stable for you both, on one condition!”

Weiss rolled her eyes. “And what exactly do you want from me, Yang?”

“It is simple! I fix the bed and you help me choose an outfit good enough for a whole night of clubbing!” The blonde smiled brightly. “So, what do you say?”

Weiss huffed and frowned. She looked between both sisters for a short moment, and she sighed. “Very well, Yang. I accept your request. However, you must fix our beds first!”

The blonde gave Weiss a gentle tap over her head and moved to grab the overhanging bed. “Don’t you worry, princess! Back in Patch – which is the island where Ruby and I came from, by the way – I was usually fixing our home’s bed all the time since Ruby always ended up breaking them.”

“Hey! That’s a total lie!” Ruby interjected. “I wasn’t that hyper!”

Yang snorted. "Yes, you were and yes, you still are! Especially after eating a whole batch of freshly made cookies."

The red-hooded girl pouted. “W-Well, I can’t argue with that…”

"So, it's settled, you help me fix this… Mess…" Weiss gesticulated at the bed. "And I will help you. In fact, I might even help you pay for it if you do an exceptional job."

“Got it!” Yang immediately started working on the beds.

What she did miss was the way Blake stared at their exchange the entire time and how she seemed deep in thought.

However, those thoughts weren’t for Yang’s ears, right now, the only thing she could imagine was how much she wanted to impress her elusive friend and how much she wanted to look beautiful for her.

Maybe she could finally have some real agency over something in her life.

Perhaps she could do more for herself than simply going with the flow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And bam! End of the chapter. Yang has decided to ditch her friends of convenience for the opportunity to make new, real friends. The key difference between the way Yang carried herself in canon and in this story is the fact that she consciously chose to cut ties with them, in order to become true to herself and to not let herself bend to peer pressure. That affected her in other ways. For example, she didn't put the boy band poster next to her bed and is less pushy.  
Also, she is building a crush on Neo... Who turned her teasing up in response.
> 
> Hm... Eventually, I will have to write more of team RWBY and 'Nova' interactions. That ought to be fun. Not that it will happen that easy.
> 
> Yang was jealous. Indeed.
> 
> Roman have no idea about Yang's identity, and Neo is avoiding filling him in on the details. However, he knows that she is interested in someone.
> 
> Neo interest in Yang is ambiguous, however. She is attracted and like to be around her but is more interested in fighting than anything else. As they move close and closer to each other, this will obviously change.
> 
> I guess thats all for now, so please leave a comment! I love reading them and they are so important to the story.
> 
> Hugs to you all!
> 
> EDIT: A few things that I forgot to add!
> 
> Yang's "friends" were based on fairy tales. Here they are:
> 
> Leona Golden was based on the tale of the "Golden Lion". She is the mixture between the main character and the hidden princess.
> 
> Lithil Birdcloth was based on the tale of "Tritill, Litill, and the Birds". She is based on both the birds and the Beggar who has the same name.
> 
> Hanna Griffin was based on the tale of "The Griffin". She is based on the main character "Hans", and the last name is a reference to the Griffin from the tale. She is also a very blunt reference to the two Alice in Wonderland characters the Mock Turtle and the Griffin.


	4. Starry Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yang goes on a second date with the elusive Nova and a series of events happened around them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! I don't know why I wrote and drew so much in this chapter, but I'm glad that its finally done. The plot thickens and a lot of information is provided so pay attention. There also more references to fairy tales in this chapter and many things that happened on it will have... Consequences.
> 
> Well, I'm tired and I will add more later when I'm feeling more rested. Please enjoy the chapter and here we go!

“C’mon, Ice Queen! We’re just an inch from reaching the store!” Yang exclaimed as she looked at her companion.

“Stop calling me that.” Weiss chastised as she stomped closer to the blonde. “And so you know, we have to hurry up or we will miss our curfew! I don’t want to be locked out from Beacon because you chose an obscure store to buy your clothes.”

“Well, it’s not like I’m swimming in dough, Weiss.” Yang rolled her eyes. “Beggars can’t be choosers, so I had to pick a place that was cheap and had nice stuff, at least from what I looked up online.”

The heiress seemed confused for a moment and frowned. "Yang, I thought we had agreed that I would pay you for fixing Ruby's bed and removing that threat to my health."

The blonde shrugged. “Cool, but I didn’t ask you to accompany me because of that.”

“Wait!” The white-haired girl gently grabbed Yang’s hands. “If you aren’t interested in my money… Then why? Why didn’t you ask for Ruby’s or Blake’s help instead?”

"That's easy. Number one: Ruby doesn't know much about dancing and has a completely different taste from mine whenever our outfits are concerned." Yang raised both forearms and shrugged, which made her teammate release her hold on her. "Number two: Blake is an introvert; can you imagine her actually willing to follow me into a shopping spree?"

“Oh. So that’s the reason.” Weiss muttered, and her expression almost looked like she was pouting. “You had no one else. I was the last option.”

“Nope! Totally wrong!” The blonde exclaimed with her ever bright smile. “I could always go pick my outfit alone. I asked you to follow me because I’m 100% sure that you had gone to a lot of parties, and maybe we could trade some ideas. I bet you have a fantastic taste, and I’m dressing up to impress.”

Weiss blinked and felt a small smile creep on her face. “True. I’m glad you can recognize my superior talent.”

"Sure!" Yang chuckled and resumed walking. "The store is right there. Let's get going before they lock us out."

“Certainly.” Weiss concurred as she followed the taller girl.

Secretly, the heiress was glad for the company.

\---

“Hm. This might be a little dark than what you’re used to, but I think this dress looks good on you, Yang.” Weiss remarked as she carefully eyed her teammate. “I mean, you are going on a date with someone, right?”

“Yeah, that’s right.” Yang answered absentmindedly too engrossed on the dress she was currently trying on. When she noticed what she had said, she quickly continued. “Uh, it’s more like a friend thing, not really a real _date_, you know.”

Weiss stared at the blonde unamused. “You are doing all this… Because you want to impress a ‘friend’?”

“Y-Yes. A friend.”

For some unexplainable reason, Yang had the distinct feeling that the heiress didn’t believe in her words.

_‘I can’t really do much about that. It’s not like I’m uninterested in Nova, I mean, she is the most beautiful person I ever met and is so cool, but it doesn't change the fact that she isn't into me, she just enjoys teasing me, or something. Maybe she wants to get me unfocused so she can get the upper hand when we finally get our battle match. I’m not that naïve to think that she meant anything by that.’_

“Well, it doesn’t really matter. I think this looks incredibly refined on you. The orange straps and the belt with the pouch attached mix well with this indigo black color. The transparent mesh shows a little bit of skin, and by consequence, makes everything look more elegant.” The heiress remarked. “I’m sure your friend will be pleased. There’s no way any man would think otherwise.”

The blonde blushed and absentmindedly played with her hair. “Uh… It’s not a guy…”

"Then what is-" Weiss stopped talking and made a quick realization. She shrugged off and decided to rephrase. "Whatever. Girls would also like that. Anyone would, and that's final. So, if you don't buy this outfit right now, I will buy it for you, understand?"

Yang eagerly nodded. “All right, Weiss. Let me buy this and let’s go back to Beacon.”

The blonde paid for the dress and the accessories

“Well, since you didn’t want to use my money, I will allow you to borrow my portable holoscreen when we return to our room. Maybe you can watch something on it while I am otherwise busy. I will even lend my earpods so you won’t be able to disturb me. How's that sound?”

“Sounds awesome. I’m in.” Yang winked at the heiress.

Then, the blonde said with a smile on her face. “Saturday will be awesome. I can feel it in my bones.”

Oh yes, it would.

\---

When they finished the transaction and started walking back to the transport station, none of the two girls ever noticed that someone was discreetly observing them at a distance.

This person was their teammate, Blake Belladonna. There were many reasons why the Faunus in disguise would have taken the time to follow someone. In the past, the reasons were generally related to any missions the White Fang would send her to, but nowadays, this was completely different. Right now, the reasons that made her stalk her two teammates in their task were a mixture of curiosity and perhaps _something_ else.

She had a strange feeling and therefore, she followed her instincts, just like she did when she decided that Yang would be her partner. She had carefully followed her landing path until she had the chance to meet her, timely giving her a little help against those Ursa Grimm.

All that because Yang said she liked her bow.

The memory of that awkward exchange made the cat Faunus blush slightly.

Perhaps _she had_ _a clue_ on why she was following her partner and the cold Schnee heiress even if she didn’t particularly like to stalk anyone.

Perhaps she knew the real reason.

Perhaps she hoped things would turn out different from last time.

Perhaps she was a little jealous that Weiss got invited instead of her.

And who knows. Perhaps this girl, Yang Xiao Long would be worthy of her trust if she allowed her to come closer.

With that in mind, Blake sneaked into the airship without anyone being none the wiser and managed to go straight to Beacon's library so she could pretend that those hours she spent outside actually were spent in the company of her books.

By the time she was sure no one would find suspicious, she returned to her team's room, managing to see Yang, Weiss, and Ruby sitting on the new, fixed bed – now a proper bunk bed - instead of the 'hanging death trap' as the Schnee heiress had candidly proclaimed.

“Yo, Blake! You’re finally back from the Library! I was on my way there to meet you so we could hang out for a bit - since we're partners and all - but I'm glad you have returned on your own." The blonde jumped down from the top bunk bed with grace, not unlike her own, and joyfully gave her partner a million Lien smile. "So, do you wanna' see some movies? I got two pairs of earpods and a holoscreen for us to use, courtesy of my new BFF over there! By the way, thanks a lot Weiss!"

Blake briefly looked at the heiress, witnessing the almost comical scene of Ruby whining at the term of endearment that her sister said to her aloof partner, apparently feeling left out.

While the Faunus in disguise did feel a twinge of jealousy, she shrugged it off quickly. From what she observed until now, Weiss didn't seem _interested_ in her partner, at least not in a way that should make the Faunus jealous, and Yang apparently behaves cheerfully around most people. Therefore, no threat there.

“Wakey, wakey Blakey!” Yang brought the dark-haired girl’s attention back to her, teasing in her usual endearing way. “So, it‘s a ‘nay’ or ‘yay’ from you?”

With those beautiful violet eyes staring at her and such a warm feeling circling her heart, Blake’s answer was obvious.

“Yay, Yang.”

\---

It was in the early hours of Friday afternoon and Neo calmly strolled to the _Golden Goose_ Club. She glared at the Bouncer who had the gall of staring back for precisely five seconds before he realized exactly who she was and what she did to the idiot who got in her way last time she was here.

The short girl felt a deep amusement from seeing such a gruff looking man practically thrown himself away from her path, his face a mask of terror. Her reputation still precedes her, at least in the underworld of Vale.

She whistled a song as she entered the club. All the bouncers and goons around the place cowered in fear of her mere presence, doing their best to stay clear from her path. They really didn't want to get on her bad side. Not again.

_‘Now, let’s find the disgusting leech who owns this place.’_

Neo knew enough about the _Golden Goose_ owner, John Silvertone. He was a horrible creature, and he controlled all the illegal drugs in Vale. Nothing like the legalized stuff, like _Biscanna_, no. He controlled and owned the cartel of all the damaging stuff like _Cobrain_, _Crask_ and his most famous one: _The Golden Egg_.

That stuff was the nastiest thing one could ever invent.

Neo saw the effects that golden like substance on a syringe could do to a person. Ultra-addictive, which not only caused an extreme high but also made its users impervious to pain – and of course, the most unique characteristic: It boosted a person's existing Aura to powerful levels.

But it also comes at a terrible price. Many of them, in fact.

Those who used this would forever tarnish any control over their own Aura’s since overcharging it made it permanently fluctuates, so they no longer could use it without said drug helping them focus. Also, the continuous use made their body rot from the inside and soon enough, they would become walking corpses. Lethargic beings with only the obsessive need to increase their Aura in hopes that it could somehow restore them to their previous stage.

By the time they realize that such notions were beyond their reach, those foolish people would fall into a pitch-black hole of despair, with only the need for more and more of those _Golden Eggs_ to guide them.

_‘Glued to the avarice of mortals. Such a pitiful fate.’_

Of course, to make such a nasty thing, someone equally disgusting was needed. Someone like Silvertone. He was the one who made this wretched thing, distributed around the whole city and had the secret formula to make it so valuable. Rumor has it that only he knew how to make the stuff, and that was why he remained mostly a recluse, too afraid to let anyone know how to make it, not to mention, to also protect himself.

And this man loved the power he had over others who sook his so-called ‘merchandise’. He had no qualms in using it in such a cruel manner.

_‘I hate him, just like Roman does. If we didn’t have a treaty, _ _I would have already quartered this son of a bitch. He is a stain on our city, and I hope he makes just one little mistake so I can finally get rid of him.’_

The two-toned haired girl kept walking around the club, waiting.

After a minute, Neo heard the characteristic shouts that Silvertone was known for. With a loud sound of a door practically being unhinged, he stomped into her view, right atop of the left staircase.

“What the fuck do you want, bitch?” John Silvertone snarled at the short girl. He clenched his fist, and opened his already too big eyes even further, in a neurotic fit. “Weren’t you supposed to be sucking Roman’s cock right now?”

Neo tapped on her Scroll, ignoring the insult. She activated the artificial voice and let the man hear it. **_“Do you want me to break your legs again? If I recall, you had to make a lot of surgeries just to keep them. Do you really want an encore of that?”_**

"Fuck no." Silvertone quickly stepped back, biting his lips, and apparently trying to calm himself. "Well, pardon my manners, girlie. I have pulled an all-nighter yesterday with some… _Cargo_. I have to keep sending it around daily. You know how it is.”

The girl rolled her eyes. **_“No. Roman and I don’t deal with garbage. We aren’t like you.”_**

“Yeah, keep telling yourself that.” Silvertone picked a cigarette from his pocket and lit it with the help of a small lighter. “So, have you come all this way just to lecture me or do you have an actual good reason for wasting my time?”

Neo tapped again her answer on the Scroll, but before she played it, she quickly moved and stood just before the man, who had barely a moment to look surprised when the short girl unsheathed her hidden blade from her parasol and pressed it against his throat – and only then, she let the message play.

** _“Tomorrow, I will be visiting this club around 7 P.M. with a friend and I wanted to make it clear to you and anyone else that I don’t want to be interrupted, annoyed or bothered by you and your men, or you will regret ever setting foot on Roman’s city. Do you understand?”_ **

Silvertone sweated and gave the girl a small nod, which made his neck bleed a little from the very sharp blade pressed against it. As he felt the pain, he decided that it would be best to actually voice his answer. “All right! No one will be messing with you! Can you let me go now?”

Neo removed the blade from the man’s neck, seeing him release a breath in relief. She returned her blade to its hidden spot and gave him one more threatening glare before she walked away from his foul presence. 

_‘Roman regrets this treaty and I regret not being more antagonistic about it. Letting this parasite alive will only ruin our city. It's one thing to steal, rough up, place bounties, and offer protection… And a whole other to make a thing that destroys a person inside out as he does. I hope he screws up so I can finally get rid of him.’_

The two-toned haired girl had no idea how soon she would have her wish granted.

\---

It was Saturday and Yang couldn’t be more excited and anxious for her date.

_‘No, I can’t think of this as a date. I don’t want to be hurt when Nova inevitably decided that she no longer cares about me. She only wants to be around so she can fight me later on. I can never forget that. We aren’t friends.’_

Those self-deprecating thoughts weren't something that unusual for the blonde even if she showcased an almost ever-present cheerful attitude. When you are someone so straightforward as she was with her own feelings, it would seem a little out of place, but for those who somehow managed to listen to her private musings, not so much.

It was just logical for her to expect the worse outcome whenever she dared to think a little too much about this whole situation. To add more to this, there was the unlikely fact that someone would be willing to be around the blonde when they have managed to get from her what they came for in the first place.

It happened with so many people she dared to think as friends, and even when she lost those silly notions, it still remained awfully painful. Well, most of the time. Cutting ties with Leona, Litill, and Hanna didn't make her lose any sleep. Maybe it was the slight new way that she is starting to see a few things around her, or maybe they never really had too much importance, to begin with.

And it was just as painless when it happened with those idiots she was forced to kiss around, be them boyfriends or merely flings that she felt obligated to keep or else she would be alone. If the blonde was honest, a part of her felt relieved whenever the chosen guy of the moment decided that she had served her purpose, which usually was as soon as the sex was done between them. Not that she knew anything about having an orgasm since she never ever managed to feel it, unlike her uncaring partners.

She only followed the whims of others so she would be left in peace… And to maintain a flicker of fake friendships that she desperately wished to become the real thing.

_‘Ugh, I should stop being so needy. No one likes a weak, vulnerable girl. If I keep thinking like that, Nova will get bored of my company even faster… Because she will leave-’_

Yang stopped her line of thought as she felt the corners of her eyes moisten, seeing on the bathroom mirror a few reluctant tears falling across her cheeks.

She would need to do her makeup once again, now that her mascara and possibly the whole assemble was ruined.

_‘Take deep breaths. Think of something silly, like Zwei eating his own poop or how Blake apparently enjoys porn in her books. Hahaha, now that was something else. What is the thing that Rubes said about it? Something related to a katana…’ _The blonde shook her head as she remembered.

Ruby was feeling a bit left alone since no matter how much she tried, her cold partner apparently didn’t want to become her ‘Bestie’, even when said partner managed to get over the fact that she wasn’t chosen as the leader of the team and promised to be Ruby’s most reliable teammate. It only seemed to worsen now that Weiss decided to spend more time in the blonde’s company, and Yang had to admit how weird it was to witness her younger sister looking so jealous.

_‘I wonder why can’t Ruby be more like Blake, I mean, she isn’t grumpy over the fact that Weiss and I are on friendly terms. Not to mention, my partner is opening up to me a little more, hell, she is doing that even to my pouting sister. I guess this might be an age thing, even if two years doesn’t really mean much in practical terms.’_

Nevertheless, the point was that Ruby was complaining of being alone when she was spending a lot of her free time on Blake’s company and whenever her older sister tried to reach out to her, she was met by weird stares and pouts.

_'Well, I can't do anything about it. I hope Rubes can find the will to see things beyond what she is showing. Besides, I have other things to keep on mind.'_

Like the ‘date-not-date’ with Nova.

Yang took a deep breath and did her best to restart her makeup.

\---

"For the last time, stop fussing, Yang. You are fine." Weiss chastised the nervous blonde for the third time. When the taller girl calmed down, the heiress resumed talking. "Now, be careful and be safe, but also: be reasonable. I'm not really too keen on leaving the comfort of our room if it means that you got stood up by whomever."

"Ouch, Weissy!" Yang feigned hurt by placing her hands over her heart as if the heiress had managed to somehow stab the blonde with her words. Receiving the usual unamused look from the shorter girl, Yang quickly recovered and gave the girl a tap on the head. "Don't worry, Ice Queen, nothing blunt will happen while I'm out partying and who knows, if the place doesn't blow up, maybe all of us can visit it together as a team effort."

Even when Weiss rolled her eyes, she gave the taller girl a small smile. She walked to her bed and laid there, picking up her homework, clearly intending to advance her studies. “Let me know if anything comes up. Also…”

Weiss raised her head and gave Yang a smirk. “Enjoy the evening.”

"Sure thing!" Yang gave another gentle tap over Weiss's head and turned her attention to her sister on the top bunk bed. "So, Rubes, won't you give me a hug? Please?"

Her sister, - who was playing on her Scroll - briefly looked at her sibling and at the direction Weiss was supposed to be, pouting with a guilty look. “Ok… Get back here.”

"That's my Rubes! Just 'Yang' in there." Yang said as she playfully ruffled her sister's hair, receiving a mixture between a whine and a pleased giggled from the shorter girl. "Best sister in the world."

“I love you too, sis.” Ruby muttered, tightening their embrace. “Have fun!”

Even as Ruby tried to seem normal, Yang knew that the younger girl probably would need more time to measure how her own jealousy was affecting them. Nevertheless, for the moment, it was enough for Yang.

_‘Now, I just need to talk to Blake… Well, when she leaves the shower.’_

Yang decided to wait for her partner for a few more minutes, which she used to put her heels and to attach her belt with the pouch, so she wouldn’t need to bring a purse with her. Soon enough, Blake opened the bathroom’s door, clad in her beautiful black pajamas and still wearing that bow.

The blonde didn’t mean to stare at her but she could not help herself. Blake looked cute in it.

_'I wonder how Nova would look wearing something as cute as that? Oh gods, now I feel the itch to see that lingerie picture she had send me...'_

Yang was lost in thought as a lazy smile crept on her face, remembering that sensual photo. She was so distracted that she didn’t notice that her partner quickly approached her.

“So, Weiss said you are meeting up a few friends in a club.” Blake started. “I want details when you come back, ok?”

The blonde wasn’t the most observant person in Remnant, but she felt as if her quiet partner was saying something more than what she was conveying. Something in the dark-haired girl demeanor and tone made Yang feel a little defensive, she didn’t know exactly why.

But it was enough to make Yang measure her words.

“Of course. Don’t worry about it.” Yang hugged her partner. “I promise if the place is cool, we can all go there together.”

Blake seemed a little surprised, but she reciprocated. “Ok…”

Stepping away from their embrace, Yang gave her teammate a small nod and left the room.

As the blonde walked in the hallway, she could not help but wonder what was that whole cryptic exchange about.

_‘Bah. I can think about it after I came back. Right now, I need to get my dance on.’_

\---

Neo smiled brightly when she saw Yang in front of the club. Without wasting any second, she met the blonde halfway, twirling her parasol over a shoulder and signing at her excitedly. _“Making a lady wait? I have thought you would have left me hanging. I was starting to feel quite alone.”_

The blonde’s reactions were highly amusing to the short woman. First, she seemed nervous, - as if she was afraid that she had somehow offended Neo for being five minutes late - then her face scrunched up - noticing that her shorter companion was only teasing her - and finally, she smirked back at her.

“I guess I just made you ‘Yang around’ for a bit, right?”

_‘So cute.’_ Neo thought as she playfully nuzzled the taller girl arm, who adopted that beautiful pink blush on her cheeks.

_“You can ‘Yang around’ me any day, my Sunshine.”_ Neo let her eyes roam blatantly over Yang’s chosen outfit, her smile increasing even further. _"You are gorgeous, but this outfit also complements your beauty. You look like a doll. I love that.'_

“Y-You do?” Yang’s blush deepened, and she coyly played with her hair. “You also look good. More casual than last time, not that is a problem! I love your clothes just as much and-”

Neo interrupted the blonde by suddenly hugging her, making her stop in her tracks. Gently, she raised the girl’s chin, which could be called strange considering how different their heights were, but regardless of anything, seeing how Yang bit her lips and how her eyes shone brightly in the streetlight’s made Neo feel warm all over.

So, Neo brought the taller girl’s face closer to her own and she let a small kiss between her eyebrows. Then, the shorter girl signed. _"I understand what you mean, my little Sunshine. Now, let us get inside this club and let's get our dancing.”_

She grabbed Yang’s hands and practically skipped their way all over the start of the club’s entrance line, giving the taller girl a plastic wristband. Before the blonde could even ask her about it, Neo answered her. _"I already paid for our entrance tickets, or should I say those plastic bands. Let me put this on you.”_

Neo put the plastic band around the blonde’s wrist and gesture to the door.

When both girls entered the club, Neo had the opportunity to see her companion's eyes look around in awe at the mixture between fancy design and the usual fashion of Vale's clubs.

_‘But that opulence isn’t enough to make me forget all the dirt underneath it.’_

"Nova lets dance right there!" The blonde pointed at a less crowded spot on the dance floor. "I'm dying to show you my moves."

Neo smirked and followed her companion.

_‘Let me give my Sunshine a glimpse of how I move. Yes, that will be a treat.’_

They both let themselves follow the tempo of the song and quickly got into it. Neo allowed her ultra-flexible body press against the taller girl, enough to tease her and to keep her attention on her. Then, she let herself get lost in the beat, deciding to go for the kill by grinding her back against Yang’s groin.

The song was loud but not enough to mute the surprised gasp and barely restrained moan the blonde had emitted.

Faster than what she had expected, Neo felt Yang’s hands grab her hips and grind back against her. The shorter girl looked back at the blonde seeing how much into it she was. Then she reclined as much as she could towards Yang’s body, letting her hand caress the taller girl’s neck, keeping her as close as humanly possible.

Another small moan. Neo could feel how warm the other girl was and felt satisfied when Yang reciprocated her by keeping their bodies impossibly near each other, and she also felt pleased when her companion dared to press her lips against the top of her head.

_‘She feels delicious against me. My wonderful Sunshine… So warm…’_

Neo allowed herself to enjoy their dance as much as she could. When the song had ended, Neo turned towards Yang, wanting to use more dance moves with her Sunshine.

Watching Yang's eyebrows raise when she showcased her flexibility by effortlessly following the music's beat, pirouetting and landing a perfect split on the floor, - which earner more than a few cheers from other club-goers around them – was priceless.

\---

They danced and danced for almost an hour, and now both girls were sweating, with Yang being the most tired. It was unusual for her to be the one feeling this spent after a nonstop bolt of dancing, but then again, Nova knew how to exactly work her up, no matter the situation.

Both girls decided to get a seat in one of the free bar stools. Yang had already taken one when she noticed Nova picking her Scroll, frown at whatever she saw on it before she placed the device back on her hot-pants’ pocket.

“Is everything ok, little sundae?”

Nova looked at her companion and gave her a small, subdued smile before she answered her. _“Don’t you worry, my Sunshine. I just need to deal with something quick for a minute and I will jump back at you.”_

Then the shorter girl signed at the barman, who seemed to understand her just fine as he also was signaling back at her, asking what would be her order. Nova turned her head towards Yang. _“He understands me and you just fine, so, what do you want to drink? Soda? Water? Ask him away!”_

“Oh, I guess a drink would be fine.” Yang thought out loud as decided on what she would ask for. “Can you get me a _Strawberry Sunrise_ \- without ice?”

The barman nodded and signed at Nova, asking what she wanted to drink, in which she quickly signed a simple ‘Same as hers’ before she placed the necessary Lien cards on his hands. The man nodded and proceed to make their drinks.

Then Nova stood from the barstool and put two of those strange small sticks in front of the blonde. _“When you receive our drinks, do me a favor and stick each of them with one of those. Please?”_

With such adorable expression coupled with those pretty eyes, how could anyone say no to that?

“Of course. Go do your thing so you can get back soon.”

The shorter girl kissed Yang again between her eyebrows and walked away, to solve whatever she had to.

Yang wondered about a few things though.

Number one: She was carrying her parasol. Yang rationalizes that they wanted to dance until dawn so, she probably was holding on it so she would have no problems when the morning arrives. Still, it was a little weird.

Number two: Nova seemed a little more forward than last time, but considering that they were texting each other non-stop since that day and that Yang had absolute zero complaints about it, she was actually happy with this development.

Number three: Her little, petit sundae apparently decided to pick this night to spoil her rotten by paying for anything Yang needed. The blonde could make her accept her money after she comes back but she also thought that it could be seen as rude? What was the correct protocol in this weird situation? It was usual in dates but this wasn’t one, or was it?

All that dancing also didn’t help her confused notions. The way Nova grinded against her, pressing every single part of her body against her own like she was possessed by a spirit of seduction; made Yang feel a very different kind of pleasure engulf her entirely. She wasn’t used to it even if she liked to pretend that she knew anything about being a seductress, at least when she still was a Signal’s student.

And she loved the attention. Oh god, she did.

It was as if she was being so appreciated by her shorter companion, from the way their dance was synchronized and such an enthralling experience. It made her have fun, enjoy it in a way she never did with any boy. More than being attracted to, it made her feel genuinely happy.

The barman put the two _Strawberry Sunrises_ in front of the blonde, quickly leaving to attend more clients at the other side of the bar counter.

Without really thinking that much, Yang placed the two sticks in each drink, just as she was asked for.

_'Done… I just wish Nova would hurry back. Argh, now I'm acting clinging. Let me think about something more important, like, what the hell are those sticks supposed to be made of?'_

Yang was too engrossed in her thoughts, so she didn’t immediately notice two well-dressed men approaching her, and didn’t even attempt to disguise her scowl when they decided that they could sit closer to her.

“Hey there, girlie. What a hot babe like you is doing all alone at this club?” One of them, the one who Yang dubbed ‘Rapeface’ - from the way he was leering at her – said. “Let me get you a real drink.”

"No. Piss off, creep!" Yang growled at the man, which prompted a laugh from his companion.

“See Tromons? No woman will ever want you.” The other man, - the one that made Yang’s skin crawl and alarm bells ring just by the way he glanced at her - snickered. “Seems you need a little help from old Coachman here.”

He gave his partner a push, making Tromons slam against the blonde, which made her release a shout. “Hey! Get away from me you pervert!”

“Oh, my bad, girlie, let me just walk away…” The man said as he stepped away, but kept an unsettling smirk over his face.

_'I want to beat them up, but it's better if I don't waste my precious time with those idiots. Now, let me drink something… Wait a minute!’_

The sticks on the two _Strawberry Sunrises_ turned black.

_‘This… This means those two had tried to dose me?!’_

Yang confirmed her suspicion as she saw what seemed to be some small kind of pill being slowly corroded by the alcohol in the drinks.

"What the fuck!" The blonde eyes immediately turned red, her hair flaring up in their golden glory. She clenched the drink in her hand, making small cracks appear on the glass until it broke. "I will make you both wish that you never waked up today!"

This whole exchange was attracting a lot of unwanted attention. People close to them seemed to scurry away in fear, and the barman seemly pressed a button under the counter before he too approached them, placing himself close to the two men.

Seeing all this, both men laughed at the blonde. Then, Tromons softly spoke. “Pretty words coming from you, girlie. You can’t win against us. Do you even know who we are? We are the right and left hands of Silvertone, so we own this town. Now, will you come with us quietly or do we need to drag you by your hair?”

Yang noticed that a few bouncers have joined them. Instead of restraining the two men, they seemly intend to capture her instead.

Not that she would allow it to ever happen.

She quickly dodges a punching target to her gut and let Ember Celica assume its battle mode, upper-cutting the barman.

With her Aura flaring, Yang barely felt the sting of a bullet trying to sink into her skin, only to have it ricocheted away. She quickly glanced back and saw that Tromons was holding a gun, which he was reloading quickly with fire dust.

She was going to shoot a few shotgun bullets at him when he suddenly grunted in pain and fell down to the floor, unconscious as if something had violently hit the back of his head.

Blood poured under him.

“Tromons!” The Coachman quickly pulled a dust powered whip from his belt and growled at the newcomer. “Who-!”

He couldn’t do anything before he was violently hit by something. Coachman still managed to keep half standing, but his expression turned into fear as he focused on the person before him and what she was holding.

This person was Nova, holding her parasol and using expertly as a weapon.

And she looked pissed at them. In a blink, with a speed that Yang could barely expect, she moved around the now many bouncers and delivered a series of violent strikes on their necks, eyes, spines, and groins. All of them in vulnerable areas.

They also started bleeding when they hit the floor. They were alive but badly injured.

The music stopped and the lights came on, almost too bright. Panic occurred and a horde of people desperately tried to run away from the club and the fight going on around them.

Nova’s eyes almost glowed and she seemly tapped something in her scroll with one hand all the while she still avoided attacks, effortlessly. Then, she played her answer for them all to hear. **_“I don’t appreciate rudeness. Now for annoying me, and trying to hurt her, you all going to pay. Every one of you. Your boss brought this upon himself.”_**

"Oh my god, it's her!" One of the bouncers exclaimed before he drops to his knees, begging. "Please! We didn't know! We will leave your girl alone-"

The sounding crack of his nose echoed as Nova kicked him. The remaining goons fled as fast as they could, leaving the unconscious Tromons and the still-standing Coachman. Then she threatening pointed her parasol at the Coachman. **_“There are consequences for your actions. Now, if you don’t want me to terrorize you, start telling me what were you planning to do to her.”_**

“I… I…” Coachman trembled and sweated in fright. “W-We were just following orders! We were to get this girl under the _Pleasure Island_ along with the others! We didn't know you were friends! It's just business!"

In a blink, Nova dashed and stood before the man, with the tip of her parasol pressed against his throat. She quickly tapped on her Scroll and played the message again. **_“Funny of you to say that. Silvertone had tried to send a message to my boss saying that I would pay for ‘dragging my presence over his club’ and my boss warned me about it. Convenient how you all chosen this moment to mess with my people. So no, I don’t believe in you at all.” _**

Nova made a strange sound. It was almost like a cough, but somehow it was as if she was screaming from the way the man literally started wetting himself in fear.

** _“Now, if you don’t want to die, you will tell me now everything about this Pleasure Island and don’t you dare lie to me. I have my ways to make you talk and you won’t like me using them on you.”_ **

Yang approached the shorter girl, both shocked and impressed by everything she had seen her do. She morbidly realized that a part of her wanted this man to screw up so she could see what kind of punishment her friend would do to him, but as soon as this crossed her mind, the blonde was horrified for even daring to think like that.

Still, she remained silent, waiting.

The man whined, but knowing he had no option left, he starts talking.

"It's the boss real job. The drugs around town are just his side gig. He keeps the girls we acquire around his territory and we bring them down to the basement, that's the place. Then we force a new version of the _‘Golden Egg’_ down their veins. The boss managed to remove the apparent rot from spreading and they all start obeying every order from whoever applies it on them. Then we sell those girls as slaves for those who can pay best after two days under. Hot powerful Aura users who would do anything for another hit! That is the whole idea!”

Yang was filled with revulsion and Nova looked no different. Her face changed into one of hate and without wasting a second more, she slammed her parasol several times against his face.

One hit. Blood all around them.

Two hits. A loud crack.

Ten hits, a strange sound was made, as if meat and bone were grinding together.

Nova was going to land another strike but Yang held her back. “He isn’t worth it. Please stop.”

The shorter girl spat at the man and turned towards the blonde, signing. _"You aren't wrong, but I have an idea: Let us find those girls, free them and let's give Silvertone a piece of our mind."_

“Yes. We cannot just leave here without doing anything about it!”

Both girls quickly started to look around the club. With no one in the vicinity, it was apparent that Silvertone was underground or he had fled the area. However, they weren't deterred and kept looking for clues, especially backstage. They couldn't find any stairs anywhere. Just a strange room with sofas', a huge statue of a golden goose and paintings.

It was frustrating.

In her anger, Yang punched the wall closer to her, which made one of the paintings fell and crash on the floor, revealing a hidden button. Nova pressed it and the golden goose statue moved away. Under it, a staircase was shown. The white-haired girl gave the blonde a small hug in thanks.

“Looks like lady luck is on my side.” She exclaimed as she smiled at her shorter companion standing beside her. “And she is really pretty!”

Nova blew her a kiss and started to trek down the staircase.

Yang sighed but brought her fists together, making the objects in the room either fall or be thrown away by the power of her Aura. “Let’s start the beating.”

\---

Neo was expecting some resistance. A part of her even hoped for it since it would give her so much satisfaction to bring that vermin to his knees.

Instead, what she got was: A huge room with at least fifty women all forcibly sleeping by the use of some anesthetic on small beds; a couple of now beaten up weak poor-excuses for scientists who not only provided them with endless books with the names of the buyers of all the girls already sold; and a more than pathetic imbecile named John Silvertone trying to crawl away from Yang. The blonde had immediately broken both of his legs as soon as he threatened to kill the unconscious girls. Neo was glad she had done that, or else she would do something worse to him.

But all in due time, as Silvertone would soon find out. Neo had just finished sending a message to Roman telling all she could about what had happened in this place, of course, carefully not mentioning Yang's name. Her brother had not only answered her but left her a couple of instructions detailing how he would proceed. All that they need to do right now was to give Silvertone a good beating and leave him dropped out on the floor, just like she did with those scientists. Although Neo had to say, Yang was doing a very good job without her help against that imbecile.

Speaking of which, that still was going on.

“Listen up you bastard! You are lucky those girls are just unconscious, if they were dosed with that crap you made, we both would be all kinds of pissed off!” She grabbed the back of the man’s ruined jacket and shirt with one hand and raised him from the floor. Then, she turned him around so he would face her and glared. “I hope you like prison food because you will be having it for the rest of your life!”

Silvertone spat blood on the floor and groggily looked at Neo's direction. "So… It is true… You're one of the cops… Sneaky goody two shoes… I never would have thought. Heh… Man, I wish I hadn't killed my brothers, those two were a pair of blue-coated with sticks in the ass but at least they knew a lost battle when they seen it… All mighty and so self-righteous, just waiting to die… Just like you…"

He kept his delirium prose. "But you can't get to me… I'm made of money, I always was the rich, smart one! That's why they are dead and I'm not, and neither you nor your brother nor the pigs will we able to keep me behind bars when my lawyers destroy you all."

“Yep, he lost it.” Yang said as she raised a fist. “Well, I guess it is lights out for you.”

The blonde punched him and he fell to the floor, passed out.

With a sigh, Yang picked her Scroll from the pocket attached on her belt. “I will call the cops. They probably are already in their way with all the ruckus we had caused.”

Neo walked until she was before the blonde and started signaling an answer.

_“Actually, I think we should leave this instant. After all, you really don’t want to have this kind of attention while you’re still attending Beacon.”_ Neo noticed that Yang still seemed a little unsure, so she kept signaling. _“They might think that you are too much to handle and before you know it, they can kick you out of it. Believe me, I’ve seen this happen before.”_

“Wait, really? To Whom?”

Neo signed yet again. _“You met them, actually, their names are Miltia and Melanie. The two girls you fought at Junior’s club? The Malachite twins?”_

Yang opened her mouth, in awe. “Really? I never would have guessed!”

The shorter girl nodded and continued.

_“This happened a few years back. They were in their second year at Beacon but started to do side jobs for Junior for whatever unexplainable reason. Reasons that no one can understand since he is, well, Junior. The point is when they eventually got into a huge club fight that was big enough to be the front cover of all news, guess what happened? Bam! They were both thrown out."_ The shorter girl sighed in exasperation._ “The faculty decided that they were giving a bad image to the school and since even the Council of Vale was somehow involved in the decision, it was pretty much straight forward. From what I heard; their mother was so furious that she wouldn’t allow them to return to Mistral until she saw it fit.”_

Neo first gestured around herself, showing all that was around them and how huge this whole situation would look like if the council or even the Beacon’s faculty had a sniff of who was indirectly involved in all of this.

_“And let me tell you, Sunshine, this situation we are in is not only worthy of being on the news of all the city’s newspaper front pages but also having a whole series made of it.”_

Yang groaned and seemed a little apprehensive. Neo hugged her so to help her calm a little. It worked and the shorter girl could hear her Sunshine’s heart adopting a calmer beat tempo.

Thump. Thump. Neo loved the sound of this girl's heartbeat, but the calmer she became, more like a song it was. She would have let herself remain pressed against her, but they should be leaving this place right now. They could hug later.

With reluctance, she released the blonde. Yang seemly pouted but quickly recovered.

“Let’s get going before we get into trouble, then.”

Both girls left that desolated place, leaving it by using the employee’s door to avoid being seen as easily.

Not that Neo would allow it since she was using her semblance to mask their escape.

When they were turning away at the end of the street, Neo got a glimpse of the police cars arriving at the scene.

_‘Roman, thank you for stalling them, I owe you one. Now, Silvertone will wish that I had killed him since my brother is going to do something way worse.’_

When Neo and Yang reached a safer distance, - which means that they no longer were at the commercial district but rather, the industrial one – the shorter girl gently tugged at one of Yang’s dress sleeve straps.

The blonde turned towards her; then Neo started to sign away. _“I’m sorry our date was ruined.”_

“What are you even talking about? We just stopped that psycho and his gang of freaks from harming those girls, got into a club fight together and we even managed to leave without being noticed!” Yang hugged her happily, raising the shorter girl in the air and spinning them around for a moment. “I’d say this was the best date I ever been!”

Neo felt herself blush. No one ever said something like that to her, and she had met many different women in her life.

_‘Yang is… So adorable.’_

She nuzzled the taller girl’s neck, leaving a small peck. Neo heard Yang release a small gasp at the gesture and when she felt the sole of her high heeled boots touch the ground, she was greeted by the beautiful sight of the blonde’s crimson blush.

Neo could feel her own heart thump loudly, and a wonderful feeling at the pit of her stomach that enticed her to this girl made itself know.

A wonderful sensation. One almost addicting.

With a bright smile, she signed. _“Sunshine, do you want to see the stars with me? There are a few old buildings in this district with those metal staircases in their sides that we could use to climb to the terrace.”_

Yang quickly nodded. “Yeah! Let’s go!”

They both started looking for one of those buildings. Neo felt happy that she had the blonde around. This girl had the uncanny skill of making her smile so very much.

\---

Roman watched the man being cuffed to a chair and table from the fake mirror at the interrogatory room. At his sides were a few of the men selected to the case and those he held in the palm of his hands if their blackmail material was of any use. Even if he was using another of his personas, the one he named Chief Inspector Gendarme Brega, from an old cartoon he once saw as a kid. It allowed him to walk around the police station without drawing any attention to him and allowed both the bluecoats and the crime boss to talk to each other when needed.

It was a mutually beneficial arrangement for everyone involved. Crime would always exist in Vale, such is the way of the world, but it would be far more manageable if they could somehow measure it in more controlled doses. Roman wanted what was the best for his city all things considered, however, he knew, by experience that no matter how bright a place looked, it always had deep shadows, and from those shadows, horrible things might appear. But a shadow that was both ally and enemy wasn't as frightening if compared to what his predecessor was.

Roman avoided remembering that man if he could even be called one. He was the most despicable creature Roman had ever met and sometimes he wished that he could have the power of resurrection only so he could kill him over and over again.

However, that wasn’t the issue. He was fifteen back then when everything had happened, and was a little too fresh before he got the hang of it.

The issue was that Roman allowed a few people to keep their old territories if they didn’t engage in a few selected activities. Roman didn’t like Silvertone in the slightest before, he had left him be for the most part since they made an agreement and he knew that those who strayed away from it were met by gruesome deaths. He didn’t like that Silvertone controlled the whole drug cartel around Vale so to sabotage Silvertone’s plans, Roman helped to indirectly fund the needed push to the legalization of some drugs across the country. The idea was to break him without having to touch him.

But then, that guy had to pull an entire new junkie stuff from his ass and made it almost impossible to deal with it without making Roman appear weak to the whole of Vale’s underworld.

So Roman waited for the moment that worm would invariably slip. He just didn’t expect that Silvertone would have the gall of trying to kill Neo, the girl she was seeing, – whomever she was – and harming a plethora of other people by making them slaves.

_'For fuck's sake… There were so many of them. Sold to politicians all around Vale, not just the city proper, but the whole country… With a few of them send away to Vacuo and Atlas. This is almost as disgusting as what that other fucker did, and I won’t allow any of it in mine city.’_

With the exception of Cinder, - who not only never disclosed her plans and got to push him around to do her bidding since she was apparently made of magic and death threats towards his precious sister – Roman feared no one.

And Silvertone will find out why _no one_ messed with Roman Torchwick.

“Let’s get this over with. You all know what to do after I’m finished.” He said barely glancing at the cops.

Calmly leaving the room, he picked from his pocket a box with the thing he needed. Then, he pushed the door open, closed it behind him and sat at the chair before the chained man, who seemed to become even more angry when he noticed how Roman was dressed.

He was wearing a chief Inspector’s outfit. A high ranking cop’s uniform.

Roman picked his cigar from his coat and lighted it with the help of his trusted lighter. He blew a ring of smoke as he glared at Silvertone, who was struggling too much with his bindings.

“You fucking traitor!” Silvertone snarled. “You sold us to the pigs or were one of them all along! When I get out of here you and your fucking whore of a sister are dead!”

Without missing a beat, Roman pressed the lit cigar on Silvertone’s hand, making him scream in pain.

“You will talk when I want you to talk. Understand?”

Silvertone spat at the floor but kept quiet.

_‘Good.’_

“One thing you don’t seem to get is:_ I_ don’t work for the cops. They work for _me_." Roman gestured to the mirror and resumed talking. "But more importantly, you violated the treaty. I was very clear when I said that sex trafficking isn't allowed in any form. Those who disobey will get burned, not to mention, you attempted to attack my sister and her friend. This not only makes a situation way worse for you but also gave me quite a headache. So, you will get what you deserve."

Silvertone snarled again. “You can’t do shit to me! I’m made of money; I will be out tomorrow by the looks of it and I will find that bitch sister of yours! Then I will fuck her and fuck her up before I kill you!”

“No, you won’t.” Roman placed the box over the table and removed the single vial from it.

Silvertone stared at the vial for a moment before he recognized what it was. “If you use this-”

“Yes, yes. _Golden Egg_ equals higher aura, therefore bad for me, but this isn't exactly the same shit you sell around, nope. This is the thing you used on those slave girls." Roman had the joy of watching that Silvertone's face lose all of its colors before he tried to desperately free himself yet again. "I won't be the one killing you, that honor is entirely yours, but not before I use you to make a statement. I know this crap doesn't work alone without additional doses each day, and I made sure to destroy all vials except this, so no one else will get to have the same idea as you; and since you never wrote down or told anyone how you made those things… I guess the secret dies with you."

“You can’t do this!”

“Yes, I can, yes I will and you, - vermin that you are - can’t tell me what to do.” Roman prepared the syringe with the rose gold-like liquid, a tone or two different from the ones usually consumed around this soon to be dead man’s club.

Then, he stabbed Silvertone’s neck with it, hitting one of his protruding veins and pushing the substance inside that man’s body.

He struggled for a moment, breaking the chains with the help of the Aura boost. Even if Silvertone had none, to begin with, with the use of that drug, even he got to become a little more than before.

But it was ultimately meaningless.

Silvertone suddenly stopped. He was almost like a zombie, just standing there motionless.

_‘And that is what he deserves.’_

Roman snapped his fingers and started talking. "I will give you a few instructions, and you will listen well; your worthless creature. As soon as I leave this room, a couple of cops are going to bring you to the security cell. Inside of it, you will find a chair, a gallon of high-powered liquid combustion dust and a box of matches. You are to count until thirty, take a seat at the chair, grab the gallon and let it cover your entire body; then light yourself on fire with the help of those matches. You are not to scream for help, but you may scream in pain, like the coward that you are. Do you understand?"

Silvertone nodded slowly. “Yes.”

Without giving him any further words, Roman left the room.

As he left, he promptly nodded at the two cops already waiting close to the doorway. They nodded back and entered the room, ready to grab the husk of a living being he had left there.

Because he wasn’t a man.

A man would never do what that monster did. Men get to face the music and perhaps pay for their mistakes. Creatures like Silvertone are no better than those Grimm that ruined Roman’s life-

No, he could not let himself remember. Nothing good ever came from those memories.

Roman shook his head and walked away until he reached the police station's closest bathroom. He finished doing his final touches on his disguise, - becoming unrecognizable from what he really looked like. Then he strolled towards the police station’s lobby.

Lisa Lavender was already there along a plethora of reporters, even if she was the anchor's newscaster. Roman assumed she just liked to be on the field as much as she liked working on the studio. He could respect that. Or maybe she just liked to have opportinuties to flirt with him.

Seeing him, she approached excitedly with a microphone already in her hand.

"Chief Inspector Brega! The people of Vale must know: did you manage to unwrap the whole drug scheme and lock up everyone involved in Silvertone's cartel? Aren't the police concerned with the fact that the stragglers of the organization might seek revenge? Can you comment on that?"

Roman promptly answered. "Well, madam, we managed to not only capture the head honcho with his pants down, but we also managed to catch the whole cartel, so it is unlike that they will have the means to retaliate."

_‘Not that she needs to know that by now, everyone who ever worked at that club is going to be dead soon since I got Neo’s list, and she had provided all of their names. From bouncers to scientists who helped Silvertone’s schemes and maybe we can use this to get his so-called costumers.…And even if a couple of stragglers still lived, they would be wise to skip town and never return. Luckily enough, the club-goers were either too high or scared to focus on what was happening around them before fleeing, so that’s also a bonus. They won’t be receiving any unnecessary visits.’_

Once again, Lisa Lavender asked the disguised man a question before he left the lobby. "One more question, please! There are rumors that they tried to dose a few girls before a fight broke out! Can you confirm it or deny it?"

With a small smile that frequently made that reporter blush whenever they interacted, Roman said a simple phrase that usually meant too much and too little. “No comment, madam.”

He smirked at her, gave a gentle tap on her hips, - which in turn made the woman look away with a small smile - before he walked out.

The reporter still was blushing when he left the area. Walking until he reached his black SUV, Roman got inside the car, started the engine and finally sped away as fast as he could.

‘_Lavender can be endearing sometimes. Too bad she wouldn’t like me under this disguise.’_

Roman snorted and whistled a song. He had more important things to think about, like his family's wellbeing.

He was glad that Neo was safe, and that was what mattered the most in the end.

\---

“Nova, look! The stars are so pretty tonight, don’t you think?” Yang said as she stared at the night sky. “They are almost glowing. Beautiful.”

The blonde felt the white-haired girl press her body against her back from where they were laying together, with Nova’s arms circling her.

Yang could not help but become even more excited now that she was feeling Nova's breasts against her back. She was bound to get wet yet again.

Then, she looked down and saw that the pale girl used her parasol as a mean to keep Yang in place, while her other hand held a small pink and white box.

“Is this for me?” The blonde felt her companion nod against her neck as she opened the box.

Inside of it was another tri-colored marble ball. With the same tones as the one that had hit the back of her head that one time: Pink, brown and a streak of white.

“You really love those colors...”

Another nod. Yang giggled. “They suit you, and I think I’m starting to like them too.”

Yang turned her head slightly so she could look at the white-haired girl and managed to catch her with a cute blush on her cheeks.

She was beautiful, so it was not a big surprise when she couldn’t help but blush back at her.

Nova bit her lips and let her arms relax and stop hugging the blonde, and she started signing. _“Sorry for asking, but don’t you have two little questions to make? Or you don’t want to use them?__”_

From the way she was signing it was almost as if Nova wanted to tell the blonde more about herself. Yang could not understand why they needed to keep doing those two questions thing, but she also had to admit that something about it made every encounter quite the experience, so she wouldn’t be complaining about this anytime soon.

“Ok….” Yang straightened her back and started asking away. “First question: how old are you?”

Nova picked her Scroll and tapped her answer, turning it to Yang so she could see what she had written down.

It shocked her.

"Are you serious?" Yang seems befuddled as she returned the white-haired girl her Scroll. "You're almost twenty-two? You are five years older than me? I thought you were fifteen like my sister, just more, well… _Endowed_ than most girls.”

_“Is that bad?”_

“No!” Yang’s entire face turned red and she gesticulated around herself wildly. “It’s good, great even!”

And she had even managed to stop herself from bluntly exclaiming that it was hot. As if she needed to embarrass herself even further.

Nova hid what seemed to be her own version of a giggle. It was gentle and quiet, but enticing as the strangely soothing songs that those weird looking ravens usually sang at her window from time to time. It made Yang happy to hear it.

Then, after she managed to recover a bit, she resumed talking.

“Now, to my second question: are we friends?”

_‘Yeah, I could have asked about other things, like what kind of job she has, if she worked for someone on the other side of the tracks, or even why she was prejudiced against the Faunus, but… I don’t want to think about it right now. Maybe she will tell me on her own later?’_

Nova stared at the blonde for a moment before she kissed the tip of Yang’s nose. She tapped an answer in her Scroll and played it out loud.

** _“I guess I cannot blame you since I never properly stated it, but after today, you can consider us friends for sure. I like you a lot, Yang. Seeing you fight made my body feel all tingling and now I’m even more pumped for the chance to battle you. Maybe after I completely defeat you, we can use it as an opportunity for us to spar, once in a while.”_ **

“What makes you think you will win?”

Instead of answering the blonde, Nova merely gave her a smile that suddenly turned into a huge smirk.

The kind of smirk that apparently turned Yang on.

_‘I guess I cannot argue with that… But I’m not going down like a chump!’_

“Dream on, little sundae. I’m going to win and after I do, I… Well, I will think of something since I haven’t a clue right now.”

Nova released an almost normal snort sound. _“Smooth. You may have a B+ for effort.”_

“Come on, that was an A+ and you know it.” The blonde giggled.

Their conversation was somewhat interrupted when Yang noticed a bright shooting star crossing the starry night sky. The blonde's eyes shined brightly. “Oh look, a shooting star! Let us wish upon it!”

The pale girl raised an eyebrow and tapped an answer. **_“What’s the point?”_**

"Don't be a grouch. It is fun! Ruby and I do it all the time we see them around, but remember, we cannot tell what we wished for to anyone one, not even each other or it will never become true!"

Nova nodded and let her eyes get lost into the starry sky.

Yang wished for that girl beside her to remain in her life no matter what happened.

Unknowing, the girl beside the blonde also made a similar wish.

If Yang could know what would happen months in the future, she would have regretted ever wishing that.

But the matters of the heart always were beyond the reach of those who felt it. There are many ways everything could turn up. It depended on how they would make their choices, and nothing was more important than the will to consciously change their own world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> End of the chapter! So... That was a lot to take in, right?  
Well, let me start on the references!
> 
> Tromons and the Coachman are both an reference to Pinocchio's antagonists Monstro(the Whale) and well, The Coachman from Pleasure Island. Monstro wanting to murder those who wandered into his territory and Coachman to sell them into slavery, which was one of the points of the chapter.  
Pleasure Island is a place that all you can misbehave as much as you want. However, those brought to that place end up meeting a terrible fate, when they are turned into donkeys and sold as slaves. In this story, the concept was similar, but the consequences even more sinister.  
John Silvertone is a reference to John Simpleton, one of the names of the somewhat foolish main character of the Golden Goose fairy tale. I mixed the Golden Egg fairy tale with the Golden Goose since I thought it would be appropriated. Silvertone is little naive like his fairy tale counterpart but unlike him, Silvertone is evil to the core. Different from the story, Silvertone's brother were good people and they were killed by him. There is a lot of symbolism I tried to convey, with the egg representing not only greed, lust and avarice but also misery. Anyway, the guy is dead and burned.
> 
> Roman in my story believes that crime is a necessary evil to keep Vale's running and if not him, someone worse would appear. So he set a few boundaries and tried to reign over the underworld with semblance of balance between the bright world of good citizens and the shadows he was used to. I started to reveal more of his past and indirectly, a little about Neo's one. More it will be showed in the future, and believe me, Roman and Neo will have to pick a side eventually. No matter how much they struggle and what they might believe.  
Also, keep in mind that those are their opinions... For now.  
Besides, we saw one of Roman's disguises. In fact, the name he used is a mix between the a character from the Baldur's gate 2, Named Chief Inspector Brega and his first name, Gendarme, was a reference to a unused character from the original Pinocchio's story, named Gendarme. He was supposed to be a police office, hell bent into stopping crime. Its ironic that he is one of Roman's masks.
> 
> Also, Lisa can like Chief Inspector Brega as much as she wants. This won't go anywhere. I have... Plans for roman.
> 
> According to the manga anthology, Blake had purposely followed Yang around for simply saying that she liked her bow. Before anyone can call this something creepy, Ruby tried to meed Yang(failed) along a lot of other people. In this story, Nova did pretty much a similar thing...
> 
> In case anyone wonders, Neo regrets not stealing the whole money of the club, but she really couldn't waste much time.
> 
> Yang's comment on Neo's breasts is based on a similar awkward exchange that she had with Blake on Season 7. Be ready for more of those references.
> 
> Ruby is jealous of Yang's and Weiss friendship. I had hinted of a Freezeburn best friendship since the last chapter, and honestly, this is my second favorite ship involving Yang, even if they aren't going to be romantically interested in each other in this story. Regardless, this change in their group dynamic will have consequences. Both good and bad. Lets just say that Ruby might find the will to do something regarding her... Crush.
> 
> I said before, but the Malachite Twins will become important later.
> 
> Neo and Yang are becoming increasingly more attracted to each other. Yang is specially too much of a useless lesbian around her. Neo started to feel more attracted towards Yang. For now, they can excuse what they are doing as a 'friendly affection', but lets face it, they both want each other, they just don't know how to say it. After their fight it will become easier to them.
> 
> And finally, a last reference to Pinocchio: The wishing star... I won't elaborate much about it.
> 
> Now, I think I said most of things. Please leave a comment! I would love to read what you are thinking. Also, please tell me what you all thought of the drawings!
> 
> Lots of hugs to you all!


	5. Yang Xiao Long is Suffering

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yang makes a important realization about herself and she enjoys a third date with "Nova".

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello people! This is a transition chapter. I will tackle some important stuff on it, but mostly, I'm just getting ready for the soon to be battle between Neo and Yang. They did said one month and if they are going out at least once per week, they will only have one more date after this one before they beat each other up. Hm, I'm doing my best to avoid spoiling things around here but I'm sure you will get it on time. At least I hope so!  
Story wise, its around the Jaunedice episodes.  
If I forgot something, I will add it here after. Enjoy the chapter!
> 
> EDIT: I wasn't satisfied with the drawings I have made for this particular chapter... So I redid them completely. In fact, I detailed a lot of things on it, like Leona, Litil and Hanna emblems, weapons and combat outfits. It also allows readers to see them a bit more than I let on the text, like their emotions for example.  
I also redid the first image and I am so happy with it. I've changed Yang's and Neo's outfits(and considering Yang changes into another outfit later, it was a bit of work) and added more fluff. Not to mention, I added the crêpes!

The moment that Yang returned to her team’s room, she was immediately questioned by Weiss. The heiress was righteously worried, no matter how much the blonde tried to calm her down. After all, could anyone blame her? She had woken up with every news portals blasting off the same story:

_The Golden Goose_ Club was kidnapping girls, drugging them up and selling them to the highest bidder.

So, her reaction was at least… Bombastic.

“DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW WORRIED I WAS?!” The heiress exclaimed as she grabbed the blonde’s dress collar. “At least you’re on one piece… That’s a relief…”

And Weiss's reaction did draw the attention of the other members of team RWBY, whether Yang liked it or not.

“What you are talking about?” Ruby asked as she approached the heiress, who glared at her, making the younger girl flinch. “Please don’t glare at me like that…”

“What I am talking about is that your older sister here, Yang, -” Weiss said as she grabbed the blonde’s shoulder. “-just escaped from a gruesome fate!” The pale girl proceeded to look the blonde all over, trying to find any injuries. “I don’t know if I am relieved or if I should slap some sense over you.”

“I can do the slapping if you need to.” Blake quietly said as she approached the duo, carefully stopping the heiress from further prying. “But honestly, Weiss, aren’t you overreacting? I mean, Yang is fine, and acting as if she is in danger won’t help her in the slightest.”

_‘Good one, Blakey… Unless Weiss is too much of a mom… Hm… Wait a sec! -‘_

“Let mommy Weiss take care of me!” Yang exclaimed with her eyes shining with emotion. “I need her to change me out of my clothes and to feed me! BAHWAAAAH!”

“Don’t you dare -” Weiss tried to say, but being interrupted by the incoming mocking moans and pretended cries of a baby simply wouldn’t allow her to talk at all. “Oh, for god’s sake, would you please cut it out?!”

“I can’t! My mommy is pissed at me!” Yang moaned as she evaded one of Weiss’ slaps directed to the back of her head. “You will need to spank me really good until I become your good girl again!”

The heiress's face turned red with embarrassment. "Stop saying suggestive things!"

Needlessly to say, soon enough, everyone in the room was sporting the same blushing expression.

"Fine. I will stop, just…. Cease this 'mommy' nonsense this very instant!" The heiress gesticulated at the blonde, half-covering her own face and half slapping the taller girl. "Please, it's unbecoming!"

“Ok! If you insist!” Yang exclaimed as she smiled brightly. “Although I will miss calling you mom, that’s for sure.”

“Dang, I also wanted to call her mommy…” Ruby muttered, receiving a pointed stare from Blake, which made the younger girl bristle in embarrassment. “I haven’t said anything and you can’t prove it!”

“Anyways, you can all chill out, I didn’t have to deal with anything too crazy while I was doing my own thing. So yeah., dear ladies, you can all calm down…” The blonde declared.

_'I like them all, but I don't want to risk being expelled over any of them not keeping quiet, so… I'm not telling anything, at least until we get closer as a team… And Ruby can be a tattletale if we consider everything, so... I’m sorry sister…’_

“If you say so, then I will let you be, dear Yang.” Weiss concluded, hugging the blonde one more time for good measure before she climbs back to her lower bunk bed.

Ruby stared at Weiss back and quickly gazed at her sister, apparently not sure of something. The younger girl frowned and took her place on the top bunk bed, whining all the while she settled herself.

And Blake simply kept staring at the blonde. Yang noticed and raised an eyebrow at that. “What ‘s up Blakey?”

Blake frowned and shook her head. “… It’s nothing.”

\---

** _Fireballing17: So now Jaune is all acting like he and Cardin are BFF’s with how much he is sucking off to him. Really pathetic. Pyrrha is beyond irritated with that, but she won’t do anything in hopes that Jaune will man up and solve this whole mess on his own. Yeah, that isn’t happening at all. Dude is just too easy to push over._ **

** _Vacherin: You are too sweet, Yang. However, I think you should be more realistic. From what you told me; he is a straight up mess. There's no point in denying it. That guy has no place in being in a combat school. I mean, what is the faculty even doing about it? Are they waiting for the moment he will finally find an enemy he can't run away from so he could have a heroic death? Really, ridiculous._ **

** _Fireballing17: That’s a bit cruel, don’t you think? I mean, Jaune has the uncanny skill of keeping himself alive, that must count for something, not to mention, having Pyrrha as a personal guardian angel is a huge advantage by itself._ **

** _Vacherin: Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn if he does or not. I mean, you are my sweet sunshine, so it is expected of you to say such cute things in contrast to my own, but I’m being realistic. In a real combat situation, that guy would be toasted in his spot. That is not to be contested. Just pure facts. I’m not trying to be cruel, just stating the obvious, all right?_ **

** _Fireballing17: I know what you mean, I just… I kind of feel bad for him, you know? And I keep putting myself in Pyrrha's place, having a crush on a fixer-upper that wouldn't stop getting themselves into trouble, so that's also a thing, do you feel me?_ **

** _Vacherin: Oh, I feel you all right; although, I’m sure a few key things are different when you are concerned. After all, you are very much into me, and honestly, you are way better than this Pyrrha’s lady. _**

**_Vacherin: You are all that I can see in my mind when I think about Beacon._ **

Yang stared at her Scroll with her face completely red, covering her cheeks absentmindedly, glad for being alone in her dorm room for the moment.

_‘Why she always…’_ The blonde thought as she felt the Scroll vibrate again. _‘Oh, dear gods… What now?’_

Yang picked the device and looked it over.

Nova had sent her a photo.

Carefully. Yang tapped over it, seeing it in its entirety:

Nova was half-dressed in _a very small_ pair of pink bikini's, adorable and the kind that Yang could not help but stare at it attentively. A huge part of her was thankful for being born as a woman instead of a man since it would be impossible for her to see all of this without getting herself in some kind of trouble. 

The blonde was surprised when her pale friend sends her another picture. She tapped on it but gasped immediately when she opened and seen that the new photo showcased a naked Nova.

_‘OhgodOhgodOhmygooooood’_ Yang could not think anything but that as she stared at those beautiful pink nipples. The new photo didn’t show Nova’s face, in fact, it was just her neck down. Nova’s legs were strategic crossed in the photo, which made the blonde mind run wild with possibilities. _‘I want to…. I need to…-’_

Yang felt a need to touch herself. Without letting her eyes stray from Nova’s photo, the blonde allowed her right hand to crawl inside her panties and touch where she most needed.

A small moan was emitted. Yang could not stop herself. All that she could think about was how much she wanted to feel her beautiful, wonderful girl. How much the blonde wanted to drop to her knees and suck Nova off and let her hands touch the smaller girl all over.

“Ah… Yes… Yes… Ahhm…” The blonde moaned as she allowed her mind to picture the pale girl on top of her, biting her neck and shoving her fingers inside her body. “So… _Good_…!”

What really made her reach the blissful pleasure was imagining herself covered in ice cream with Nova eating her out. It was just so dirty, so lewd, and something so uncommon to what she was used doing; that when she finally felt that delicious pleasure overcome all of her senses, she moaned freely, unlike she ever did in her life.

“Ah… Ah... Ah…” Yang could barely resist as she felt it. That powerful, wonderful energy, warming her up in such a delicious way.

Her thighs all wet, and she briefly wondered if Nova was doing something similar.

_‘Gods, I hope she is… That would be so hot…’_ The blonde wondered with a smile.

Shaking her head, the girl thought it would be for the best if she took that opportunity to take a bath. She did share this room with three other girls, one that was her sister, and not taking a bath after doing that itsy-bitsy kind of business would be completely gross.

She was about to jump into the bathroom, when she decided to take a photo of her breasts, without showing her face - just like Nova did – and quickly send it to her precious friend.

_‘There… Here it is!’_ Yang thought as she sends the photo to her crimson-eyed friend, her entire face blushing in embarrassment. _‘I hope she won’t mock me too much over it…’_

Yang did receive a message from Nova, but instead of teasing, her beloved friend merely said: ‘Woah!’ and attached to the message a photo of the girl’s entire face... Blushing.

_‘Look at that, I guess I just found something that may make her speechless… Good to know.’_

With that in mind, Yang took a long and exquisite bath to calm herself down.

\---

_‘Blah blah blah, won’t Ms. Thumbelina just stop already…’ _Yang mentally bemoaned as she stared at the class clock. _“How long can someone keep going on about all the different types of syrups? I mean, c’mon, enough already!’_

Unless the syrup in question was used between the blonde and the elusive Nova. Then, it would have all of Yang’s attention for sure.

“May I have just one more moment, students!” The teacher flayed her arms nervously as many students ran in droves from her classroom. “As you are aware, tomorrow you are all expected to fill at least a bottle each with the sap from the trees of Forever Fall forest. Professor Glynda Goodwitch will be accompanying you all, so stay vigilant and be careful. Also, you all may fill a second jar with red sap for your own personal use since the syrup is quite tasty and I’m not a tyrant.”

The students stopped in their tracks and each of them gave the small woman a look before they left the Plant Science classroom.

Yang eagerly thought about tomorrow. _'I will bring a few bottles so I can share it with Nova. I heard the sap has quite the exquisite taste. Hm… Maybe I can make something with it? Perhaps a few Crêpes Suzettes? Yes, I will make one and I will serve it together with a scoop of Ice Cream! But where I can prepare it without being bothered?’_

Without meaning to, the blonde thought about the kitchen of the _Three Little Bears_ Club, and how she could bully Junior until he allowed her presence in its facilities. That would be the perfect opportunity.

_'Awesome! I will be making her the most delicious crêpes of her life! HAHAHA!'_

Yang smiled widely as she practically skipped the steps until she reached the cafeteria.

Weiss merely raised an eyebrow at that.

Ruby was too busy staring at the heiress's hair to notice anything.

And Blake frowned.

\---

** _Fireballing17: So, Nova… Do you like Crêpes? With a lot of syrup and ice cream?_ **

** _Vacherin: Hell, Yeah, I do! Don’t you dare torture me like that, Sunshine! That’s so mean of you!_ **

** _Fireballing17: Sorry! I’m just asking so I can get a surprise ready for you and now I’m so glad that you aren’t I don’t know, allergic or anything of a sort. That would really screw with my plans._ **

** _Fireballing17: And… I’m just asking this since I got the opportunity to acquire a nice and dandy dose of Forever Fall syrup, and I will be using the Three Little Bears facilities to make them for you… So, I hope you like it._ **

** _Vacherin: Really now? That's so thoughtful of you, my Sunshine. I cannot wait until I can taste it. I'm sure you are going to do an amazing job of acquiring it and making it. _**

**_Vacherin: You are my beautiful student after all._ **

Yang covered her face as she did her best to look like she was paying attention to Mr. Potts Class.

Once again, her team glanced at her direction.

\---

_‘One bottle, two bottles, three bottles, four bottles… Hm, maybe I need to get one more just for safe measure…’_ Yang thought as she filled one more bottle. _‘Yeah, this stuff is quite tasty after all…’_

The blonde sang along a non-descript song, as she imagined how that pink consistency of the syrup would clash so perfectly with the crêpes, and how delicious and how pretty it would turn out to be.

Yang smiled, closing her bag and carrying everything carefully. She really didn’t need an accident happening just to screw with her plans.

_‘Yeah, there’s some commotion over there, but then again, vomit boy always has a knack for drawing attention. Therefore, I have to stay clear from whatever he is doing. If I don’t want to get into trouble.’_

With that in mind, Yang did her best to ignore everything around her that wasn't related to the task.

As soon as she returned to her bedroom, she carefully stored her syrups in a safe spot and quickly send a message to her dearest friend.

** _Fireballing17: So, Nova, are you free this Saturday? Or maybe Sunday if you won’t be able on Saturday?_ **

Yang only waited for a few minutes. Soon enough, she got her answer.

** _Vacherin: Saturday I’ll still be quite busy, but by Sunday I will be back in one piece just for you. Let me guess. You want to meet me at the Three Little Bears so I can taste your delicious crêpes? I’m in, just saying. _ **

The blonde blushed. Then, she tapped her answer.

** _Fireballing17: Yeah. I have a bunch of stuff to put on your mouth._ **

As soon as Yang send this message, she covered her face in embarrassment.

_‘How in the flying fuck have I thought that this was a good thing to say to her? ARGH’_

The Scroll trembled and the blonde chanced a look at it. With a deep breath, she decided to risk a glance. What she saw made her want to melt into herself.

** _Vacherin: I cannot wait for the chance to taste you, then. I’m sure you will be delicious._ **

Yang buried her face on her pillows for almost half an hour before she found the strength to do anything else.

\---

It was Sunday. Yang quickly directed herself towards the _Three Little Bears_ Club in order to ‘talk’ to its owner and ‘request’ the use of its facilities.

It was a bit bothersome to be busy so early in the morning, but Yang knew that she needed to move fast, or her teammates (especially Weiss) would nag, not to mention, she was on the clock.

When she was about to leave the room, the blonde felt a hand gently grabbing her shoulder. “Yang.”

Said girl flinched but as soon as she noticed that Weiss was the one who stopped her, she released a breath in relief. “Ah, it’s just you, Weiss.”

"Just me?!" The heiress seemed slight offended but quickly overcame this impulse. "Never mind that. I want to talk to you for a moment."

Yang looked away slightly. Weiss rolled her eyes. “Oh c’mon! I won’t be long so don’t you dare complain about it.”

“Ok…” The blonde muttered as both girls left the room. When they were completely alone, the blonde smiled at her friend. “How about now?”

“Yes, this place is decent enough.” The heiress frowned and crossed her arms. “Yang, we need to talk about your behavior.”

“My behavior? What about it?”

“Your whole… Thing!” Weiss gesticulated at the blonde. “Like, smiling, giggling out of nowhere, acting cute and adorable. Every single moment of the day you are being like that!”

Yang blushed. “Awwww! Look at that! Who would dream that the Ice Queen was so sweet? Come here!”

“Hey! Stop thaaaat!" Weiss moaned as she was prompt – and completely - hugged. Even as she complained, Weiss smiled and blushed head to toe. The heiress even nuzzled on the blonde's neck, playing her charm. "You… Brute…"

"Yes, queen!" Yang exclaimed and she playfully nuzzled back on the shorter girl's neck with a huge smile. "Now, who's my favorite BFF? You are!”

They would keep doing that if they weren’t interrupted by a familiar giggle. “Now’s that is really nice!”

Weiss and Yang turned her attention to the newcomer. “Nora.”

“That’s my name, all right.” The redhead said with a nod. “And you both are acting pretty gay with each other.”

“Absolutely not!” Weiss exclaimed with embarrassment and shock, pushing the blonde away from her. “You are out of your mind!”

"And yet, it got a rise out of you. How cute!" Nora said as she started to make some distance between herself and the heiress. "Although, that must explain a few things, and Pyrrha will be far more relieved now that Jaune is basically safe from being 'taken' if you get my gist."

“I already told you! I’m not gay!” The heiress kept exclaiming, while the blonde was too busy laughing out loud from the whole thing. “Stop laughing, Yang! You’re not helping!”

The blonde merely shook her head and started to walk away. “Yeah, yeah. I’m going to go. Good luck with all of that, Weissy!”

“YANG! YOUR INSUFFERABLE LITTLE FIEND-” Yang couldn’t hear the rest of Weiss tirade since she left the room.

_‘Even if I wanted to stay, I am on a schedule…’_

\---

It was quite the sight, arriving at the _Three Little Bears_ Club.

First, a bunch of henchmen despaired as soon as they noticed her and quickly ran inside the club, apparently warning everyone quite vocally that she, Yang, was coming. It was quite funny hearing them screaming out phrases like “SHE IS COMING! BARRICADE THE DOOR!” And things of the sorts.

It would be meaningless in the end, since there would be nothing between her and her objective, and that objective was to make a wonderful Crêpe Suzette for a beautiful and special friend.

So, with a powerful punch, Yang forced the club's door open, and with a shrug, she sings a song. "Guess who's back, back again! Yang's back, tell a friend!"

The henchmen wailed in desperation, getting even more nervous than before. “AH! SHE’S HERE! RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!”

From the other side of the club, the familiar shape of Junior, Miltia, and Melanie appeared, the trio showing confusion and nervousness. "What is the meaning of this?!"

“Hey there, Junior! Sorry for bursting your bubble and all, but I kind of need to use your kitchen for a while, but don’t worry, it won’t take much and I will pay you with a bottle of this Forever Fall Syrup that I just collected in class. You in?”

“Do I have a choice?” Junior muttered as he glanced at the bottles of Forever Fall Syrup with deep interest. “Although… How about you increase your bargain to two bottles? Then I would be more willing to let you use my club’s kitchen. What do you say?”

"Deal. Here it is." The blonde quickly placed two of the bottles close to Junior's bodyguards, who promptly picked them and eagerly eyed them. Noticing how they seemed very interested on them, Yang decided to add something to her words. "I will be making some Crêpes Suzettes for a special friend. Do you know how to make them or need me to give you some pointers? I don't mind teaching you both how to cook it."

The two bodyguards shared a look and with the sweetest of tones, they asked their boss to leave the room. Junior did with a nod and when the three of them were alone, one of the twin girls spoke. “I’m Miltia. If you have trouble remembering, just try to think of me and my claws. My sister, Melanie, enjoys weird stuff, like, bladed heels.”

“It’s so not weird, your heffer!” Melanie said with derision as she appeared on Yang’s right side. “Listen up, blondie, that tart over there likes to slander me but she is just as weird.”

“Right…” Yang muttered. “So, you both want to make something for someone special? Or your boss? I don’t know, what will be?”

Both twin sisters shared a look before they nodded. “It’s for a guy we both like… And he is our boss so…”

"Yeah, sure-" Yang stopped herself in her tracks when she processed what was said. "Wait a second! You both like the same guy… I mean, you both like Junior? Does he knows about it?!”

“Yes, he does… I mean, I’m lucky it is my sister, or I would already done my best to kill the girl.” Melanie said with some embarrassment. “Are you going to judge us now?”

If Yang was sincere, she already was, but honestly, how petty she would have to be to become so affected by something someone she only met once decided to do? It was irrelevant if one or both sisters decided to share the same man and no one had anything to do with that, regardless of whatever they thought about their relationship.

“…No?”

“Good, thank the gods for small favors.” Miltia sighed in relief. “Now, we want to make Junior happy with our food and he has quite the sweet tooth, believe me - I swear he was a bear in his other life with how much candy he eats on a daily basis. How do we proceed?”

With a small smile, Yang answered her. “Follow my lead and I can guarantee that he will have the best dessert in his life. Not to boast.”

\---

“Dear gods! This is looking fantastic!” Melanie exclaimed as she made the final touches on her own pile of crêpes. “I suppose we will be bringing our own food to our boss. You want to remain here and wait for your 'friend'?”

“Exactly, ma’am. Don’t forget the two bottles of syrup.” The blonde pointed at the two bottles. “Also, you both have my Scroll number, so if the two of you want to try making it again, ask for the recipe or whatever, just give me a call and I will write it down for ya.”

“That’s nice of you, thanks a lot, Blondie.” Miltia sheepishly said.

“Please, call me Yang. Blondie makes me feel like a total hoe.”

“Ok, thanks!” The two bodyguards nodded and left the kitchen. “Good luck, Yang!”

Yang waved them away as she looked over her Scroll.

_‘Let me see… She is on her way. She sent this message thirty minutes ago, so she is probably close by… Man, I am so nervous.’_

Yang carefully picked the Crêpes Suzettes and brought them out of the kitchen.

_'Too bad I didn't had the time to buy the ice cream. Oh well, it still will do.'_

By the time she brought the last one, she had the happiness of seeing the club's door opening slightly, and the form of her darling friend appeared.

“Nova! Here you are!” The blonde waved at them. “I hope you like what I made for you.”

Almost in a blink, the short girl ran until she stood before the blonde, her eyes glinting with barely contained excitement, which becomes apparent with how she trembled while she gesticulated her answer, almost salivating. _“Believe me, I’m starving for something sweet!”_

"Ok, let me serve you, please take a seat." Yang gestured to the bar stools. As an afterthought, she motioned towards the white-haired girl. "Ah, before I forget, where are those sticks so I can put them in my food?"

Nova raised an eyebrow and shook her head, holding one of the blonde’s hands as gently as she could while the other signed her answer. _“I trust you, Yang. You don’t need to worry about it.”_

Reading those signs touched the blonde's heart in a way she couldn't begin to put into words. Her entire body warmed up and she felt herself blush deeply. It only increased when the white-haired girl places a little of the Forever Fall syrup over her slice of the crêpe she had just cut for her. Nova brought the slice to her mouth, eating it slowly, making a satisfying humming noise of appreciation.

Without missing a beat, the smaller girl picked her Scroll and tapped an answer, pressing the play button so Yang would be able to hear what she had written. **_“This is beyond fantastic! I never tasted something so good in my life! Is there anything about you who isn’t total wife material?”_**

That was enough to make the blonde speechless. She couldn’t even stutter. That’s how embarrassed she was.

Noticing the taller girl shyness, the white-haired girl decided to do the sensible thing and took a seat over Yang’s lap.

Just to tease her further.

“…Do you want me to keep feeding you, little sundae?” Yang whispered as she nuzzled on the smaller girl’s neck.

Nova nodded in agreement.

So, for that while, both girls shared a sweet and peaceful moment with no one else in their world. Just each other.

\---

**_“So, this is the third date we are in, right, Sunshine?”_** The smaller girl asked as she played her question from her Scroll as soon as they both left the _Three Little Bears_ Club. **_“I’m sorry if I kind of put a damper in our plans for today. I had a job to do and I got in the way at the worst of times…”_**

Yang nervously shook her head, a bit fearful that the smaller girl could take the blame for something as small as that. “No! Please don’t worry, it wasn’t your fault, and I had lots of fun making those crêpes for you.”

The blonde let a finger play with her own hair absentmindedly. “Besides… You… You said that I was… I was… Uh…”

Nova approached the timid, taller girl and laid a sounding kiss between her eyebrows, which only increased the blonde’s blush. They both stared at each other for a long time before both girls pressed their foreheads together.

The pale girl barely looked away when she tapped an answer on her Scroll and pressed the play button. **_“You are the ideal wife, at least in my humble opinion.”_**

And once again, the blonde melted.

Ultimately, what made them move was the annoying sound of a message being sent to Yang's Scroll.

“Uh… I-I’m sorry!” Yang exclaimed as she put a small distance between herself and that beautiful girl she was absolutely smitten with. The blonde picked her Scroll and read the received message.

** _Where are you? – Blake Belladonna._ **

_‘What…?’_ Yang frowned as she shook her head, ignoring the message. _‘Well, that was kind of strange. Bah, I will talk to her when I go back to the dorm.’_

Yang felt the gentle touch of Nova's hands on her face and waist. The shorter girl raised an eyebrow and tilted her head as if she was inquiring what was happening. Without even needing to voice her thoughts, Yang wanted to give her an answer. "My partner is just being silly, asking me where I am and so. I will talk to her when I come back to the dorm."

Nova raised an eyebrow and signed at her. _“Are you sure about it?_

“Yeah, I’m pretty sure.” The blonde shrugged off. “What, should I be worried or something?”

_“Well, I don’t know how close you are to your partner or if she think more is going on between yourselves than what really is happening, but let me give you a valuable piece of advice: Sometimes, there are people who will think they own you and therefore, will want to know every aspect of your life.”_

The blonde released a snort. When it became apparent that the shorter girl wasn't going to laugh with her, Yang recomposed herself. "Uh, Ok then. I didn't take that into consideration. If you could just see my partner you would think the same thing. Like, Blake is so antisocial and keeps too much to herself. I can count on a few fingers what I actually know about her since she is so closed off, but she kind of just hovers around me like a weird satellite? Is that a thing? Hell, I know more about you than her!"

Nova opened her eyes widely, her mouth making an ‘o’ shape. She nodded and seemly pondered over what was said. Then, she gestured to the blonde. _“I see. So, you might not see her with the same regard as she sees you. That’s a valuable piece of information. Perhaps she wishes to change the type of relationship you both have but have no idea how to do it. Interesting.”_

“What?! That’s impossible!” Yang shook her head, but once again, seeing how the shorter girl kept the same expression, she was forced to deal with it. “Ok… Let’s assume you are right, then what the hell I should do about it?”

_“Honestly, I don’t know. It will depend entirely on how you wish to keep or change your relationship to that girl.”_ Nova frowned for a brief moment before her expression turned neutral. _“So, what will be, dear Yang?”_

Yang didn’t even need a second to think about it. “Hell no! Blake might think I’m the cream of the cream, - which honestly speaking, I am - but that doesn’t mean that she has any right over how I will live my life, who I interact with and even less with how I feel towards those around me.”

The blonde quickly grabbed the shorter girl in her arms and stared firmly at her.

"I'm not giving up what we have just because of a technical thing like being a partner with someone by destiny's chance. By the same rules, then we are partners too, in fact, we became a duo even before that Beacon nonsense was done."

To Yang’s unending surprise, Nova blushed. She made a sound similar to a gasp followed by small noises akin to gentle giggles. Then, the shorter girl hugged her tightly and laid a small kiss on her right cheek.

As she backed away from the taller girl, Nova signaled at her. _“Sorry, you just are a little too much kissable for your own good. That’s quite the uncanny skill to have, my dear Sunshine.”_

Nova glanced at the sky and gave the taller girl a lopsided smirk before she started signing once again. _“Tell you what, there’s an arcade close by, how about we go into some shooting games with each other, heck, maybe even a few dancing ones! I’m sure I would pay just for the opportunity of seeing you killing some baddies.”_

"Yeah! Sure! Let's goooooo!” Yang practically dragged the shorter girl away with her, all the while her face was completely red. “And it will give me the time to change out of those rags as soon as I find a bathroom. I can use some cleaner clothes while we’re having fun, don’t you think?”

_'I did bring a second set of clothes, after all.'_

The funniest aspect of this particular situation was the fact that the shorter girl also kept the entire time with her cheeks blushing. Even as they danced and shoot 3D monsters, Nova looked as smitten as Yang.

\---

Neo returned to the hideout later that night with a huge smile on her face and a bottle of Forever Fall syrup. Yang insisted on having the shorter girl bringing one back home so she could try it with Ice Cream, - since she wasn't able to bring it with her - and perhaps even taking the opportunity of sharing the syrup with her brother.

Cute. She was really too cute for this world.

_‘My Yang is just… Perfect.'_ Neo thought as she practically skipped the remaining steps to the hideout’s door. _'It's a pity that I was needed back so soon. I need to make up for her. Hm… Maybe I can buy her something nice as an apology? She did make such exquisite food and it deserves to be properly rewarded!'_

"Hm? Oh, you're back, thank the gods." Roman exclaimed as he noticed the girl. "I'm sorry for calling you on such short notice. Just having some trouble with a few key idiots who don't seem to understand simple commands, but I'm sure you won't find much resistance in your way. You know just the right way to discipline them."

Without missing a beat, Neo excitedly offered her brother the bottle of syrup. She felt amused as her brother’s eyes seemly increased in size and a kid-like smile appeared on his face. “Is that for me? Thanks a lot, dear lady!”

Neo quickly gesticulated at him, eager to tell him all about it.

"Oh? So, your girl was the one who got you one? Made some crêpes to go along with it? Wow!" The redhead gave a gentle tap over the shorter girl head, as affectionately as he always were with her. "With how interesting she is becoming every passing moment; I think I won't have any problem in approving of her. You have to bring her over someday so I can give her 'the talk' and who knows, maybe we might even bring her into our respectable business. So, what you think about that?"

Instead of being happy, Neo frowned. Shaking her head, the short girl left the room, placing the syrup safely inside a locker, leaving the redhead confused and alone for the moment.

_‘I don’t want her to know everything. I want to keep her just like she is… Sweet as the most delicious candy, more beautiful than the most exquisite work of art. Gentle as the smiles she offers me, funnier than any pun she can make and more beloved than anything else in between.’ _

_‘Just my happy, happier, joyful joy.’_

But Neo could fight as much as she wanted, she should have know better than to battle against the current, against the inevitable. It didn’t mean that she would lose all, but it would hurt to keep that precious love safely on her hands.

\---

Yang Xiao Long _is _suffering.

_‘At least I’m wearing something clean. That’s already an improvement by itself…’_

She is feeling so much pain.

At least she would be if we consider how she could almost taste how it bothered to be physically away from Nova’s presence, how much she longed to hold her hands and not let that beautiful short girl away from her sight.

But she had to return home, to Beacon, to her room and teammates so she could provide an array of answers to those other girls almost unending questions.

_'Then again, why should I even answer them, to begin with? It's not any of their business and I don't like people demanding those things of me. Well, except Nova, but then again, I guess I am a little… Uh… Whipped? Oh gods, is that what I am? I'm so not telling her that! Nova already teases me too much.'_

So busy she was with her thoughts that the blonde didn’t notice how many students were looking at her. A few of them were indifferent, others with… _Interest _and fewer others showed open disgust.

The last kind of reaction becoming more familiar since the person perpetrating it was someone she used to know, even if it was someone now irrelevant.

“Yang Xiao Long! You did not just turn into a _dike_ since we last spoke!” The vague voice that Yang recognized as belonging to no one other than Leona echoed loudly in the hallway.

Clearly, Leona wasn’t too worried about being discreet in the slightest, but then again, when did she ever?

"I have to give it to you, though! At least you have gone for someone rich, and I guess maybe even pretty if you like flat chested chicks!" Leona kept her silence for a few seconds before she noticed how her words might be interpreted, which prompted her to change a little her rhetoric. "Not that I would know anything about liking chicks! That would be totally gross and disgusting! Shame on you!"

_‘Ah, so Nora talked about what she saw between Weiss and I. Of course, she misinterpreted. Figures she wouldn’t know how to shut it, but I don’t think she did with ill intentions in mind. Nevertheless, while I don’t give a damn, Weiss might be an entirely new story, so for her sake, I better do something about it. But first things first.’_

"Funny how for someone who claims to not care about it, you seem far more invested in my personal affairs than I am. Really, do you have a crush on me and just don't know how to deal with it? Pathetic." Leona didn't even have the time to protest the affirmation for Yang kept her tirade. "Anyways, I don't care. It must be quite shocking that people can live outside your bubble and don't have to give you any satisfaction, but that's why you are, well, you, and I am me. I will say this once though: Don't bother me or my team… Or you will regret ever getting into Beacon."

Yang took a step away before she turned her head to look at the fuming girl. "Ah, another thing before I forget it: You were wrong. Weiss and I are just BFF's. The concept of people being friends without any ulterior reasons must be quite exotic. How sad. Weiss doesn't need anyone, she is self-sufficient on her own, but I can guarantee that she has higher standards than a shallow, judgmental person such as yourself. So, go around and fuck off, your little bitch.”

Yang ignored the probable insults being spewed after her retreating form, but the blonde couldn’t care less. Students who witnessed the exchange seemed in awe.

She, on the other hand, had other concerns. Right now, her only worry was to find her teammates, especially Weiss, so she could know how she was holding up.

"Hey, Yang!" The blonde heard a familiar voice belonging to no one but Nora herself. She seemed a little sheepishly as she awkwardly called her attention. "Hey… Uh… I'm sorry, my big mouth blew things out of proportion…"

“Listen, for my part, you have my forgiveness, but you should say those words to Weiss. I don’t know how she is holding up, but there’s a chance that she is hurt by this accusation. Also, learn how to and when to shut up, Ok?” The blonde stated as a matter of fact. “Also, Weiss and I aren’t in a relationship, at least not one of romance. We are just friends, and we never wanted anything of sorts from each other. This was a big misunderstanding.”

“Oh geez… That’s what I get for blurting out loud at the cafeteria…” The redhead muttered. “But never fear! I can fix this! Let’s go find Weiss!”

Yang sighed and followed the hyperactive girl.

It took half an hour with their combined efforts and a few educated guesses but they ended up finding the heiress at the roof of one of the dorm’s buildings.

She was training, her face a mask of discipline and restrained anger. However, the mask fractured as soon as she saw the blonde.

With a little push, the Yang made the redhead start apologizing to the heiress, poking her when she seemly forgot something, like the obvious fact that Weiss and Yang weren’t an Item. Just friends who were wrongly mistaken for a couple due to Nora’s own misjudgment. When it was all done, Yang allowed the redhead to leave and as soon as she felt safe to, she approached the white-haired girl.

“I know it probably is a dumb thing to ask, but how are you doing, I mean, all things considered?”

Weiss sighed and crossed her arms. “Honestly? Not as irritated as I should be. I mean, I am at least happy that it was you of all people that got mistaken as my, well, beloved, so to speak.”

"But I'm also hurt that so many people used this as an excuse to pry on my affairs as if they had any right to it." Weiss shook her head. "I know that as a Schnee, that automatically means that I'll always be on the media immediate scope of interest, but a semblance of decorum is at least expected. Like, can you imagine how terrible things would be if paparazzi or merely gossiping idiots were to follow us all day and night? And that is like friends! If we were actually a couple, it would be a living hell."

Yang scratched the back of her head. "Have you tried to talk to the faculty? I mean, I doubt they can do much but if it gets in the way things are done here in Beacon, I guess they could do something…"

"Well, I tried. Professor Goodwitch said she would address this issue tomorrow at the beginning of her class in which what she called a 'safety concern' and those students who are caught harassing either of us over that are going to face consequences, whatever they might be. I'm just glad that they are trying to do something at all, but she did recommend us to train harder than everyone else so we might inspire fear on those who dared to annoy us."

"True. That's actually a very good idea." Yang agreed. Then with a small smirk, she gave the pale girl a gentle slap on her shoulder. "So Weissy, at least Jaune will finally leave you be, right?"

The heiress laughed out loud, taking longer than usual to recompose herself. “Yes. Thank the gods for small favors.”

Both girls giggled and the blonde felt the need to talk a little more about this whole issue with her dear friend.

“Weiss… I know this was just a misunderstanding, but-”

"-Oh, dear God, please tell me you aren't going to confess your undying love for me?!"

“Hell no, I’m not that crazy!” The blonde received a dirty glare from the heiress and she elaborated. “Don’t you look at me like that! I love you a lot, but I’m into someone else…. And that is why I want to know your opinion.”

“Well, I’m not sure how I might be of some help since I’m fairly certain that our tastes must be as different as night and day, but I can at least listen to you.”

Yang picked her Scroll and opened a decent looking photo of her beloved elusive friend.

This would be the first time that she actually admitted out loud. The moment where she would need to be truthful. In retrospect, she should have noticed sooner, but nevertheless… Yang felt an indescribable kind of happiness overflowing her entire self.

_‘I’m in love with her. I’m in love with my friend. I’m in love with Nova. My little beautiful sundae. All is happy in the world.’_

Giggling, Yang showed Weiss Nova's photo. Weiss's eyes grew big for a moment before she made a small 'oh' sound. She returned Yang's Scroll and smiled at her earnestly. "So, this is the girl you like? Isn't she a little young for you? I mean, she looks like she's fourteen or something. I do have to say, though, she has some similarities with me that I find a bit concerning, but I understand that I can't hold any of that against you. That would be like me denying having any interest on blondes because Jaune's a creep."

“Ok, first, her breasts are bigger than yours, also, you do realize that she is an albino, someone who has an actual health condition and you are just… Well, the whitest kind of rich?”

“Hey! I resent that!” The heiress said even as she tried to hold a laugh. “Ah, jokes aside, I’m very honored that you confided in me with such secret. I’m not telling anyone.”

“You better not, you are the only one I’m going to admit to any of this and if this information somehow finds its way into the great masses, I’m never talking to you ever again.” The blonde offered the white-haired girl her hand. “Deal?”

“Of course, how could you think otherwise?” The heiress shook Yang’s hand as gently as she could. “Although… I have to say you’re not the first girl that I met who was into other ladies. Sometimes I even wonder about myself. However, I don’t think I’m a lesbian, maybe bisexual… Hm... I guess I don' t have what it takes to be a pansexual, though. Argh, this is so very complicated. What about you?”

“I think I’m a lesbian. Don’t misunderstand me, I already dated guys before but they always kind of grossed me out. I only stayed around them so I would not be alone. Stupid right?”

Weiss crossed her arms. “The fact that you have been with men - in your past - doesn’t make you any less of a lesbian. This is not a contest, and believe me, I know a lot about being too scared of being alone. I’m a Schnee after all.”

Both girls stared at each other eyes for a moment before they laughed out loud.

“We’re quite the pair, aren’t we?!” Weiss exclaimed happily.

“We sure are, Weissy!” Yang answered the girl with a hug. “I’m so glad we became friends. You’re the best, Ice Queen.”

"Likewise, Yang. You're the best… What's the word… Oh right! "BFF" ever." The white-haired girl declared as she pressed a small kiss on the blonde's cheek. "Just don't fall in love with me. I know it’s hard, but do try to keep up, mmkay?”

“Bwahaha! Deal.”

If anyone happened to listen to even a fraction of their conversation, they would have misunderstood their intentions. Luckily for them, only Yang and Weiss listened and witness that moment of tenderness.

\---

Fifteen minutes later, the Freezeburn duo returned to their dorm, being immediately questioned by the two other members of their team, Blake and Ruby.

“Can you please explain to me what the heck is going on with all of those rumors of both of you dating?!” Ruby exclaimed as she practically shook her sibling. “Since when?! Please tell me this isn’t true! Please!”

“Whoa! Would you just take a chill pill, Rubes?!” The blonde exclaimed as she broke the hold her sister had previously on her. “Weiss and I are just friends, but if you must know, I think I’m a lesbian. With that being said, are you getting weird because of that?”

“You…. What?” The younger girl trailed off, not expecting any of that. “But you always dated guys…?”

“And they always grossed me out. I only did it so I wouldn’t be alone but now I don’t give a crap anymore.” The blonde crossed her arms and glared. “I will ask you once again, are you going to be weird with me?”

“Uh… No?” The smaller girl sheepishly said.

"Now that's settled… What about you, Blake? Are you grossed out?"

“No, _definitely _not.” The quiet girl quickly muttered.

“I’m sorry?”

"Uh… I mean, it is fine with me! Hah…" The quiet girl trailed off with an awkward smile. "No problem at all… That's right…"

The blonde raised an eyebrow. “Ok…”

_‘That’s weird, but at least I can be glad that my partner isn’t a homophobe.’_

“Now that we all have solved this issue, is there something else related to it that is in need of discussion?” Weiss asked matter-of-factly. “Don’t hesitate to ask, so we can put this whole debacle behind-”

Ruby quickly exclaimed. “Are you into girls, Weiss?!”

There was complete silence for precisely five seconds before Yang couldn't hold any longer and started guffaw loudly.

Blake shook her head but stole a glance at the blonde, smiling as sweet as she could.

The heiress's entire face turned red as she coughed and simply said that she didn't know for sure.

And the youngest member of the team seemed both elated and disappointed with her answer.

All in one, that was quite the day for the blonde.

Miss Yang Xiao Long _really_ was suffering, indeed.

But this time, she at least knew she was suffering for love.

\---

Out of the window, a shapeshifter observed. She kept tabs on her daughter more as a whim than a real gesture of emotion on her part. Or perhaps she did care. Those things were irrelevant if one would consider the present.

Nevertheless, she watched and watched. Stalked and observed. Most of all, she gathered invaluable info that she could use when dealing with her daughter in the future.

Not right now, though. _Not yet._

There was more to learn and more to observe before the inevitable happens, but if she was honest, she would have to admit that part of her remembers a lost time, so long ago, when she too learned to love and was blinded by its illusions. Part of her wanted to let her daughter enjoy it as much as she could.

With the gentle flap of her wings, Raven soared against the sky.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So that was the chapter. I hope you all liked it.  
A few things to consider:  
Hanna Griffin, one of Yang's fake friends is a turtle Faunus. There's bits of a hoarse-like texture over her skin. Almost like pieces of turtle shells.  
Hm... They will have a role to play in the future but not that irrelevant... For now. They aren't that important, after all. Also, just to add a few more details:  
Hanna's Weapon is her shield. She can remove the handle from it so she can also shoot enemies. Her faunus Turtle trait allows her to constantly grow "shells" on her body's skin which work as a natural armor.  
Litil's Weapon is a Crossbow that can store many gadgets and small weapons, including a knife in its handle.  
Leona's Weapon is a Pike-Crowbar, a reference to the process of mining for precious metals. It can change to a rifle. She carries thin claw-shaped grenades on her belt.  
I always had this head-canon that Yang was awesome in house chores. She did had to grow up faster since her father wasn't in a emotional state to be of use after Summer died and Yang had to help him to take care of her sister. Therefore, she has awesome cooking skills. XD  
While in canon it can be argued that Yang is Bi or pan, in this story she is strictly a lesbian. If that wasn't obvious from past chapters. allow me to reinforce this.  
Hm... Yang is getting closer and more intimate with her beloved friend. I wonder if this will escalate further? Oh what I am saying, of course it will.  
And what is Raven's angle? Oh you will all have to wait and see.  
I kinda of slaked off on my drawings this time. They are there but I didn't put as much effort on it. Sorry? My drawing tablet is acting up to topple things up.  
Please leave a comment and like in this story, that would help me a lot! Its like a balm to my soul!


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